


Mountains

by 99MillionMiles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (kind of), Alpha Harry, Alpha Harry Potter, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff (sometimes), M/M, Mates, Omega Draco, Omega Draco Malfoy, Omegaverse, Some angst, and definitely a lot of comfort, but mostly love I swear, love and hate, there's a lot more but I won't spoil you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-29 21:57:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8506942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99MillionMiles/pseuds/99MillionMiles
Summary: Harry and Draco weren't supposed to be mates.Draco wasn't supposed to wake up every bloody morning to the blinding urge to run to Potter; Harry wasn't supposed to spend his days overwhelmed by the sudden need to hold Malfoy in his arms.They weren't supposed to be mates- and yet, they have now to face their destiny.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT Jan 2017: every chapter of this story has been beta'd by my AMAZING beta, Apieceofpaper! ♥  
> I hope you enjoy!

At the beginning of each year, Father always grips his shoulder before walking away.  
Draco has learnt to recognize that gesture, just like he has learnt how to recognize each of his father's gestures. He knows what that strong grip means, and always furrows his eyebrows at the anxiety that follows.

He's going to present as an Alpha, just like his father before him, just like his grandfather before his father, and so on. He's going to marry a pure-blood Omega, is going to have heirs and is going to keep the Malfoy name alive.

He's turned seventeen during the summer- this must be the year. Mother had pressed a single kiss to his forehead before saying goodbye, and Draco felt a heavy weight on his shoulders as he left the house.

He's late. Most Alphas and Omegas present at a younger age, or even as children. Plus, he's a pure-blood- he was supposed to present at _birth_.  
The thought of Hogwarts used to be reassuring, to make him feel better. It was a place away from his mansion, away from his family and away from the darkness of his father's eyes; sure, he had to prove himself worthy of his name every day, but...it was fun. He could play Quidditch and learn new things. He could fight Potter.

_Potter._

Draco raises his head, and his eyes widen.  
There is...there is something weird in the air, tonight. He hasn't even stepped foot in Hogwarts, and yet he feels at home.  
Something is warm, so warm that Draco can feel it radiating on his own skin. Everything is dark and quiet and still; Draco's heart is hammering in his chest, and his nostrils widen to a strong, familiar scent.

Draco turns around.  
The first person he sees is Ron Weasley, messy ginger hair slipping in and out of Draco's focus. The first thing he hears his Hermione Granger's laugh, barely audible.

And then Weasley and Granger move out of the way, and the second person he sees is Harry Potter, the second thing he hears is Harry Potter's voice, and he is so incredibly _clear_ to his eyes that it's almost like the sun is shining high; almost like every other sound on the Earth has stopped, almost like-  
Potter stops.  
He isn't walking anymore. He's looking right at Draco, and Draco cannot move.  
Draco distantly thinks that Granger must have whispered “immobilus” while he wasn't listening, because everything is _so_ still. The wind isn't blowing, and leaves aren't flying around like they always do, and there aren't students running towards Hogwarts and no one, nothing, is moving.  
“Hello” Potter says, and his voice is so calm, so low, so familiar all at once. “I was waiting for you.”  
Draco's mouth moves on its own, before Draco can even think of what to answer. “I was here before you.”  
Weasley rolls his eyes, but he is blurred to Draco's eyes and he doesn't see it. Potter cracks a smile.  
“Yes” Potter agrees.  
And then, Draco runs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! as promised, I'm adding a new chapter. I'm planning on posting a new one in a few days.  
> Again, English is not my first language and my works are unbeta'd; if anyone would like to beta them, please let me know.  
> EDIT Jan 2017: Now with corrections, thank to my beta Apieceofpaper!  
> Enjoy!

Dinner has never tasted this bad.  
Harry can't stop playing with the food on his plate, moving it around with his fork and looking at it with no interest at all. Ron eyes his sausages and points at them with his own fork.  
“If you're not eating them, _I_ 'll take them” he offers.  
Hermione slaps him lightly on the arm before Harry has the chance to answer him. “Ron! This isn't the best moment to think about food, is it?” she scolds him.  
“You can have it, Ron” Harry says anyway, before getting lost in his thoughts again.  
“Harry” Hermione calls his name, furrowing her eyebrows. “Don't get all upset like that. We were expecting it, weren't we?”  
“He's _Malfoy_ , Harry” Ron agrees, between a bite and another. “He was 100% going to freak out, and we knew that.”  
“Honestly” Hermione adds, “we thought _you_ were going to freak out as well, Harry. Why are you so calm?”  
Harry shrugs. “We are... _mates_ , or whatever. Seeing him makes me feel weird things. So, what? I can live with it.”  
Ron laughs. “I don't think you've understood anything, Harry!”

“What?” Harry asks, confused. “There's nothing more to it, right? I just wanted to tell him, so that he would know and we would decide to ignore each other and our... _status_.”  
When Hermione speaks, she almost yells. “How can you _say_ such things?” she says, her hair moving as she talks. “You can't just...just _ignore_ such things, pretending they don't exist! Of course, you haven't experienced it yet, but once a few hours pass you'll be in _Hell_ , Harry-”  
“He already is in Hell” Ron chuckles, “he's Malfoy's mate.”  
Harry rolls his eyes, exasperated. “Well, apparently, he's my mate, and so? I can just decide for myself.”  
“No you can't!” Hermione insists, furrowing her eyebrows. “You are-- don't you understand? You're bonded! For life! And this bond is going to get so strong and heavy and _important_ that you'll find it hard to _breathe_ if you don't do something about it!”

“What am I supposed to do then?” Harry huffs. “You saw the way Malfoy ran away from me.”  
Ron and Hermione exchange stares. Then Hermione puts her head in her hands, desperate.  
“Harry” Ron speaks, and his eyebrows do funny things. He can be incredibly expressive. “You clearly don't understand what we're telling you.”  
“Oh, then _please_ , explain to me” Harry says as he rolls his eyes.  
“We're saying” Ron says, “that you're doomed.”  
Harry just genuinely chuckles. “Oh, and why is that so?”  
Hermione looks up at him, and her gaze is so furious that Harry is almost afraid she's going to _Avada Kedavra_ him. “Do you have _any_ idea why Draco has run away, Harry?”

“He hates me?” Harry just shrugs.  
Hermione sends a fork flying to his head, but Harry miraculously moves away just in time.  
“That was close” he mutters, but Hermione completely ignores him.  
“He ran away because he's scared! He's _panicking_ , Harry!”  
“If I were Malfoy” Ron adds, “I would be running too.”  
Harry is starting to get the gravity of the situation. “What? Why should he be- _afraid_?”  
“It is not a good thing to be an Omega, Harry” Hermione says quietly. “I mean, it is, but not for everyone. And especially not for the Malfoys.”  
Harry's eyes widen. “And why is that so?” he asks.

Hermione lowers her voice. “Omega males are pretty rare” she explains, “and Draco is clearly one, since you're his Alpha.”  
“Okay, what the hell are we talking about now?” Harry asks, completely confused. “Alphas and Omegas? There weren't such things back in- how can you even say that I'm an Alpha and that Malfoy is an Omega?”  
“It's because of the way you smell, Harry, and the way _he_ smells” Hermione says. “How can you not realize such things? How can you-”  
“I'm sure Miss Granger is providing you great explanation of the situation, Mr. Potter” says a calm, familiar voice behind him, and Harry turns around to see Dumbledore's face. “But, I would like to talk to you privately about the subject nonetheless.”  
Harry just nods, and stands up. He doesn't have any appetite anyway, and he's glad to finally hear Dumbledore's words about the matter.  
He follows the professor into a quiet, almost hidden room. It's not the first time Dumbledore and he get to talk in private -and probably won't be the last-, but Harry can somehow feel that this time is going to be different. He can't stand up straight and he finds himself anxious, all of a sudden.

“As you are able to see yourself, things have turned out in an unexpected way” Dumbledore says, but Harry can hear a smile in his voice. “I cannot say I don't find this amusing.”  
“Amusing?” Harry repeats, raising his eyebrow. “Professor Dumbledore, I have _no_ idea why you would find this _amusing_ -”  
“This is the first time a Malfoy male presents as Omega” Dumbledore cuts him off, “they were all so sure that Malfoy would present as Alpha. But, honestly, I had seen this coming.”  
Harry blinks, confused. “How?”  
“Since the very first time you two met, I could tell something was going to happen” Dumbledore says, hiding a smile under his long, white beard. “Always bickering, challenging each other...reminds me of a certain situation, you see.”  
Harry is tempted to ask him what situation he is referring to, but something in Dumbledore's voice make his mouth close just as soon as he opens it to speak. Dumbledore looks lost in his memories just for a brief second, but that's enough to make Harry understand that he shouldn't ask questions.  
“I won't lie to you, Harry” Dumbledore says, “this won't be easy in the slightest. But there are no ways to break a bond between two mates, and any distance between you and your mate will only work against the two of you. I believe you have yet to understand the importance of the bond, mostly because you have yet to experience the real feeling of being an Alpha- but soon, and _sooner_ than you imagine, you'll see what I mean. And at that point, Harry, you won't be able to fight your nature the same way you are now anymore.”

Harry nods, but still hasn't understood a few things. “I have other questions, professor.”  
“Then, you shall ask.”  
“Why is being Alpha or Omega so important? I've never heard of such things.”  
“They are status, Harry. Not so important ones, if I were to be honest- the real thing that matters about them is the way they define our present and future. Each Alpha is destined to meet their Omegas, with whom they'll be in love until the very end of their days.”  
Harry can't help but laugh. “There must be a mistake, then. _Love_? Me and Malfoy _hate_ each other.”  
“Hate can be a strong feeling, Harry. Even stronger than love, sometimes. And it's the closest to it, indeed.”  
Dumbledore smiles at him. “I know this doesn't make any sense to you, not yet. But you've got to trust my words, because they'll prove to be right.”  
“I can't understand how hate can turn into love this easily, professor. Right now, I am nothing but confused.”  
Dumbledore walks into the hallway, and Harry follows him- he knows that their conversation has come to an end; this is just Dumbledore's way to say it.  
“I suggest you go and find your mate, Harry” Dumbledore says, “he will need your support.”

But Draco is nowhere to be found- Harry feels weird; he has looked for him in the castle, in the garden, even in the _Slytherin Dungeon_ , and yet he just can't find him. It's almost like Draco has disappeared, and suddenly, Harry feels pure fear growing inside of him.  
Where is Draco? What if he can't find him anywhere, ever? What if Dumbledore is right, and Harry will fall in love with Draco, and what if he _doesn't_ ever actually fall in love with him because something happens to him tonight, and then Harry will have to live is whole life by himself, and-  
“Harry!” Hermione calls him, grabbing him by his arm. “Are you listening?”  
“I'm not” Harry says frankly, fighting back his fear. “Hermione, I'm _worried_ -”

Normally, Harry would notice the tiny smile on her lips; he would ask her the reason behind it, but not today. Today, he doesn't realize what he's saying; today he's growing more and more confused and upset every minute, and he can't bring himself to think of anything but Draco.  
“I know” she cuts him off, and looks at him straight in the eye, “but I need you to focus. You're the only one who can find Malfoy right now- I can't help you, and neither can Ron.”  
“What?” Harry panics. “Why?”  
“Hermione keeps talking about weird things like scent and feelings, I dunno” Ron offers, shrugging. Hermione just rolls her eyes before she speaks again.  
“You _do_ remember Malfoy's scent, don't you?”  
“I don't” Harry answers, shaking his head.  
“Well” Hermione huffs, “you clearly aren't aware of it, but you actually do. And you have to focus on that and let your senses guide you to Malfoy- do you understand, Harry?”  
Harry nods, but isn't listening to her. Something inside of him is awakening- Harry doesn't know what or why, but he feels the overwhelming need to _run_ , to the left and then to the right, to start walking, to _move_ -  
“I have to go” he mutters, only a second before he leaves.

 

///

 

Harry doesn't know _how_ , but he does find Draco.  
He's hiding in...well, Harry doesn't actually know what this place is. He only knows that it's dark, and kind of cold, and they must be far from the castle, because Harry has never been here.  
He can barely see a thing; this whole place, which looks like it's situated in a forest -not the Forbidden one, though, since Harry would recognize it-, it's surrounded by darkness.  
In a way, it suits Draco. Harry should have expected it.

He doesn't know what to do. He just breathes in the cold nightly air, and wonders what to say.  
Obviously enough, the only thing he can see in this darkness is Draco's hair. It has such a light color, like the moonlight can't keep away from his face.  
Harry opens his mouth to speak, but he just can't find any words to say. What is he even supposed to do?  
But Draco speaks and moves before he does. “Why have you come here, Potter?” he hisses, his voice low and furious. “I didn't want you to come and find me!”  
That makes an old, familiar fire sparkles deep inside of him. “What do you think, Malfoy? I didn't want to as well!” he says.

“ _Oh_ ” Draco huffs dramatically, “then _why_ are you here?”  
“Because- because we're supposed to be mates, or whatever!” Harry answers defensively.  
“Mates?” Draco echoes him, eyes widening in fake stupor. “Oh Merlin! _Mates_! Important stuff indeed!”  
Any other day Harry would Langlock him at least, but not today- today his hands itch as he fights back the urge to punch Draco, or grab him and pull him into a kiss- wait, what?  
“You don't understand!” Harry yells, because Draco makes him _so_ mad. “You should speak to Dumbledore or anyone with a functioning brain before mocking me like that!”  
Harry decides to ignore how he himself didn't believe a word Dumbledore and Hermione said to him earlier- now, now he _does_ understand. Something deep inside him is making him feel so _sure_ of what they told him.  
“I won't speak to anyone but Snape!” Draco yells back. “Just the sound of your voice makes me _sick_ , Potter!”  
“I hope so!” Harry hisses. “I can't wait to see you struggling for the rest of your life, Malfoy!”

“The rest of my life?” Draco repeats, rolling his eyes. “Snape will surely tell me otherwise. I'm sure this is just a big, _huge_ misunderstanding.”  
“If you're so sure of that--” Harry starts saying, and then stops.  
Confusion must be terribly clear on his face, because even Draco finds himself furrowing his eyebrows. “Lost your tongue, Potter?” he asks, and sounds almost worried.  
“You're scared” Harry just mumbles.  
Draco blinks, and then he's hissing again. “I'm _not_ \--”  
“No point in denying” Harry cuts him off. “I can feel it.”

And he _does_. He feels it growing with his very words; he feels panic overwhelming Draco, and just steps closer to him without even realizing it.  
“No- don't you come _any_ closer, Potter” Draco grunts, voice firm. But Harry can sense his discomfort, and he can't help but keep walking.  
“Do you understand, scar-head? If you take another step, I _swear_ -”  
Harry just barely touches his arm, and Draco almost jumps at the touch. His hand moves to slap Harry's away, but stops in mid-air; he cannot fight.

“Potter” he says weakly, but can't add anything else. His heartbeat slows down, and a weird sense of calm washes suddenly over him.  
And if Potter can do this by such a light touch alone, what would a hug do? What- what would a _kiss_ do?  
“Calm down” Harry murmurs, barely audible. “We're going to work this out.”  
“Father is going to kill me” Draco finds himself muttering, before he can stop the words from leaving his mouth.  
Harry shakes his head. “He should know better than that” he says quietly, joking.  
A side of Draco's mouth moves upwards without him realizing it. He's not quite smiling- but it's something.  
It's...unbelievable, the way just this stupid _touch_ can do so much. Is it the bond? Draco has never believed those silly stories about mates, and never will, but...  
Harry's touch disappears, and everything disappears with it. Draco takes a step back.  
“Don't stand so close to me” he says, not sounding as threatening or angry as he intended to. “Your physical proximity makes me want to throw up, Potter.”  
Harry bites his tongue to keep himself from answering. He just rolls his eyes.  
“Let's get back to Hogwarts, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned and leave kudos ♥


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT Jan 2017: Now beta'd by Apieceofpaper! ♥  
> Enjoy!

Harry is silently following Draco all the way back to Hogwarts.  
It's...weird. _Weird_ , how he can suddenly follow his steps and trust them; _weird_ , how he feels strangely good.

Being with Draco like this, just walking by his side, makes Harry feel calm. And it really isn't to be expected- mostly because they keep bickering all the way home.  
The quiet, cold nightly air surrounds them both as they walk their way back to Hogwarts' Castle. It's not too late, but dinner will already be over when they get there for sure.  
Neither of them are hungry, anyway- so, it just doesn't matter.

They walk into Snape almost as soon as they set foot in the Castle. The professor's eyebrows are furrowed as they always are, but his expression looks slightly different from his usual one.  
“Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy” he calls them, voice slow and serious. “How _unexpected_.”  
Draco instantly grits his teeth, closes his hands into fists. “Professor Snape” he calls back, moving a step closer to him -and a step further from Harry- “I want this misunderstanding to be over immediately. My father can't know-”  
“You father _will_ know, Draco” Snape cuts him off, and panic becomes visible on Draco's face already. “I shall also tell you that there is no misunderstanding, nor mistake, in Mr. Potter being your mate.”

“That can't be real!” Draco insists. “This must be a joke. When my father will know about this-”  
“I don't think I should be the one worrying about your father's reaction, Draco” Snape interrups him, raising both his eyebrows. “Should I?”  
The meaning of his words is clear, and Draco can't help but gulp quietly. He opens his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but no sound comes out of it.

“The two of you will move into a new room in the Gryffindor's dungeon” Snape announces, not without haste. “Mr. Potter being the Alpha, this cannot be helped” he adds, anticipating Draco's words again.  
“What? A Slytherin _will not_ change their Dungeon!” Draco nearly screams in rage. “You know for how long my family has- I'm the _Prince_ of Slytherins, for Merlin's sake!”  
“Control your temper before you lose it, Draco” Snape says calmly. “You will only need to sleep in that room. For the rest of the time, you're free to stay in the Slytherin Dungeon.”  
“What about my room-mates?” Harry asks, finally speaking. “What about Ron?”

“You will move into a new room, Mr. Potter” Snape repeats. “Weren't you listening to my words?”  
Draco snarls before Harry has a chance to answer. “This is _ridiculous_ ” he grunts.  
“Once the bond starts growing, you will regret saying such words” Snape scolds him.  
“At least, let _me_ talk to my father” Draco asks. Snape falls silent for a few seconds, considering Draco's request, before answering.  
“I'll let you do that. But if you won't tell your family about the bond in a three days’ time, I'll send an owl to them without second thought.”  
Draco just nods. Harry furrows his eyebrows. “What about _my_ family?” he asks.  
“They need to be informed of the situation as well. Unless you want to tell them yourself, we might let them know before tomorrow.”  
“I don't care, and neither will they” Harry shrugs. “Anyway” he adds suspiciously, “where is this new room of ours?”

///

Harry can't sleep.  
It's his last night in this bed, in this room- he can hear Ron breathing loudly, his snoring familiar and not annoying at all after all those years. Is he going to miss it?  
He can't help but ask himself a hundred of other questions. First of all, how did he _really_ know that Malfoy was his mate?  
When he had told that to Ron and Hermione, they had looked at him like he'd grown a second head. But really, it came so simply to his mind: he just spoke his mind when he said, “ _I've heard things about people being mates. I think Malfoy is mine._ ”  
Even now, Harry isn't worried about it. He just accepts it, as a matter of fact.  
It doesn't matter that Ron and Hermione had freaked out about it- it doesn't matter that Malfoy himself panicked. Harry is calm, because really, _how_ can a stupid _status_ change his whole life? It can't. Everyone is making such a fuss about it, but Harry knows better. He's survived worse things anyway.  
Still, he can't sleep.  
He has too many questions unanswered, too many doubts in his mind. He doesn't believe in the importance of the bond, but still, he feels that _something_ has changed, and what is that? What's different now?  
That night, Harry doesn't sleep at all.

///

The room is smaller than expected, but it's all right.  
Draco doesn't like it- that much is clear; he looks at it with his eyebrows furrowed and displeasure clear on his features, and doesn't even nod at Dumbledore's questions.  
When the Headmaster finally leaves the room, he doesn't waste a second.  
“I'll kill you in your sleep, Potter” he snaps. “I won't let you near me.”  
“I thought you had more urgent matters to care about, Malfoy” Harry snaps back. “Snape said something about your father, if I recall.”  
Fire burns beside Draco's eyes. “Don't you _dare_ \- you stay out of my family's business.”  
“You're making such a big fuss, for such a stupid little thing” Harry says, rolling his eyes. “Why so tense? It's not like we have to marry, or whatever.”

Draco almost chokes. “ _Marry_? You really don't know a _thing_ about this bond, do you?”  
“I don't need to” Harry says. “I can guess. We stay in the same room, people think we'll fall in love, we don't, we graduate from Hogwarts, and this big stupid thing comes to an end. I'll marry some woman, and I'll have children, and-”  
“You _idiot_ ” Draco hisses, and looks exactly like he's going to punch him. “Go ask Granger about this bond. Go! She'll tell you all the information you need to know!”  
“Why don't _you_ tell me, since you already know?” Harry hisses back.  
“You want to know, uh? Alright, I'll tell you” Draco roars, almost scary. “We can't escape from this stupid bond. It's going to hold us together more and more, every day, without us realizing it or being able to stop it- don't you see how calm you are about this, Potter?”  
“I am calm because I don't see any reason to worry” Harry grunts.  
“That is the whole point of what I'm telling you!” Draco explains. “You're the Alpha here” he adds, not without haste, “of course you can't help but feel calm. But actually, you should worry too- this is the end, Potter! We're bonded for life!”  
And that's when it really _does_ strike Harry.  
This _is_ a big deal. He cannot blame Hermione and Ron being so serious about it anymore- he thought it to be only temporary, but then Draco said _we can't escape_ , and-  
“We can't escape?” Harry repeats. “What does that mean?”  
“It means that there's no way to break the bond between two mates” Draco hisses. “It means that I will not have heirs, Potter, and neither will you. It means that I can't marry a pure-blood woman, and you can't marry- whoever you wanted to marry. It means-”  
“It means that we're cursed” Harry realizes. Draco falls silent all at once.

“You think so?” he asks quietly, a few seconds later.  
“That- that must be the only explanation” Harry nods. “We...we gotta do something. If we're cursed, there _must_ be a way to fight this bond, right?”  
“I- I don't know” Draco says, and he sounds honest. It's weird how quietly he speaks now- Harry can tell that his panic isn't as strong as it was before. “But I hope so.”  
“I'll speak to Hermione” Harry says. “You go and check in the library.”  
“Don't give me orders, Potter” Draco hisses, and his voice is loud again. “We're not _friends_.”  
“We need to collaborate, Malfoy” Harry hisses back. “If the bond really _will_ pull as close way before we realize it, we need to be fast. And to keep calm.”  
“It's already pulling us close” Draco mutters under his breath. “Look at this- we are freaking _joining forces_ here.”  
Harry snorts. “It's for our own good” he says behind gritted teeth. “I have no intentions of spending the rest of my life with you, Malfoy.”  
“Neither do I” Draco throws back, and in a second, he's gone.

 

///

 

“A _curse_?”  
Hermione widens his eyes as Harry nods. “Yes, a curse- that must be the only way.”  
“I don't know, Harry” Ron says, sounding hesitant. “Mates are chosen by Magic- Magic puts them together, you see? It's a...very strong bond. I don't think that someone can just form a bond between two people that way.”

“And, Harry” Hermione adds, “when you told us, you sounded so calm and unbothered about it. Alphas always know about their bond with someone first, and this is the most natural way to react- you did what most Alphas would do. Even when your mate is- ugh, Malfoy. This can't be a curse, Harry- it's Magic.”  
“No, Hermione, you must be wrong” Harry shakes his head. “I _did_ freak out, just a few minutes ago, Draco told me we're bonded _for life_! When I first realized that me and Malfoy were-”

“Yes” Hermione cuts him off, “tell us about it. How did you know that Malfoy was your mate in the first place, Harry?”  
Harry furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”  
“That isn't as common as you think, Harry” Ron explains. “People usually need to see or smell their mates before they can become aware of the bond- you just _knew_ , and that's pretty unusual.”  
“I just...I just did” Harry says, because that's the only way he can answer to that question. “We were on the train, and we were talking about our first year at Hogwarts, recalling old events and all, yeah? And then, for whatever reason, I thought of Malfoy and it occurred to me that we were mates. Just as simple as that, I promise.”  
“Without even seeing him or smelling him” Hermione adds quietly. “Harry, I'm _so_ confused right now.”  
“This only happens to a few Alphas, Harry” Ron says, eyes widening with concern. “I think I'm going to freak out now.”

“No, Ron! We must keep calm” Hermione scolds him, and Harry just watches them. They're always the first to panic, even when Harry should be the one doing so- which reminds him of the real reason why he isn't freaking out.  
“I'm not scared by a stupid bond” he says. “I've been on the verge of _dying_ before. What can this do to me? I just need to find a way out of it.”  
“There is _no_ way out of it, Harry” Hermione says, voice serious. “I've never heard of _any_ Alpha being like this, not in real life, not in _centuries_ \- also, isn't it weird that Malfoy is the first Malfoy male to present as Omega?”

She furrows her eyebrows. “This is so confusing, Harry. I need to think about it. And you need to stay safe” she adds, “we already know that the Malfoys won't be happy about this. Malfoy could actually try to kill you, Harry- that's the only real way to get out of a bond. But...”  
“But?” Harry asks.  
“But that would make his life miserable” Hermione explains quietly. “Living without a mate, Harry...that's just torture. If you were to kill Malfoy, or if Malfoy were to kill you, even in this early stage on your bond, life would become...nearly unbearable.”

“Why would Malfoy try to kill me, then?” Harry asks. “Is he stupid?”  
Ron laughs, but Hermione remains serious. “He's _not_ stupid, Harry. But he's disgracing his family right now, being an Omega, and being _your_ mate. This could easily drive him mad.”  
“I have to talk to him, then” Harry says, and stands up. “I'll tell him that the best thing to do is to try and ignore each other for the rest of our lives. Maybe that'll be enough. And” he adds, anticipating Hermione and Ron's protests, “don't you think I'll stop looking for ways to get out of this bond, because I won't.”  
Harry leaves before giving them any chance to answer, and walks into the library just a few minutes later. As expected, Draco is reading an old-looking book and looks incredibly focused.

“Found anything interesting?” Harry asks him quietly, sitting across him at the table.  
“Yes” Draco answers, unexpectedly. “This isn't a curse.”  
He says it so lightly, like a matter of fact. “But we can fight the bond, in a certain way- we can't break it, but we can stop it from growing stronger. I'll talk to my father” -Harry doesn't miss out the way Draco's voice slightly trembles then- “and he'll get Snape to separate us. We'll get back to our old rooms, in our different dungeons, and we'll pretend this never happened.”  
“Can we really do that?” Harry asks, furrowing his eyebrows. “Hermione told me- she told me that there will be... _consequences_ , if we part.”  
Draco snorts. “I don't care about consequences, Potter. I won't let my family disown me.”  
He looks down at the open book, and grimaces. “You want to know what this says, Potter? That we're going to feel _affection_ towards each other- that we're going to _fall in love_.”  
“That's what Dumbledore said too” Harry mutters quietly.  
“It must be true” Draco spits. “We shouldn't even be in the same room, Potter. _This_ should have never happened.”  
“It's not my fault” Harry grunts. “What, for Merlin's sake, are you blaming me for? It's not like I wanted this in the first place!”  
Draco opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again before any sound comes out of it- Harry is left wondering what he was going to answer.  
“Leave me alone, Potter” he mutters under his breath. “I need to think about my family.”  
Harry just grits his teeth and does as he's told.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit messy- I needed to clarify some things, and this was the only way for me to do just that.  
> More interesting stuff to come in the next chapter, anyway, so stay tuned and leave kudos!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbeta'd, every mistake is mine and I don't speak English as first language, sooo if anyone would want to beta my work, feel free to contact me.  
> EDIT Jan 2017: beta'd by Apieceofpaper!~
> 
> Enjoy!

_Father won't be happy about this._

This is all that Draco can think of- he can't focus on anything but this; the familiar feeling of frustration growing deep inside him, shaking his whole body with the urgent need to cry.  
He has disgraced his family.  
He's the first Malfoy male to present as Omega, _ever_ \- not even a female Malfoy would be easily forgiven to present as one; and everybody was so sure of Draco presenting as Alpha, even if in his teens, even as late as he is.

Draco already knows what his father's face will look like, when he tells him; features cold and rough, eyebrows furrowed in contempt and head cocked to one side, as if in contemplation of Draco's uselessness- gaze fastened on him and full of disappointment.  
 _Oh, Merlin. He will disown me. I won't be a Malfoy anymore._  
Air comes to his lungs in quick, uncontrolled breaths. He's panicking, _again_ \- and, where is Harry? Why is he nowhere to be seen? What is he doing? Why is he not here?

Draco needs to see him and to calm himself. He _hates_ to give the bond this much importance, but he knows that seeing his mate is going to help him- Harry won't know about it. Draco will make it look casual.  
He walks out of his room in the Slytherin Dungeon- Merlin, he's going to miss it _so much_ \- and almost runs into the Gryffindor Dungeon. He tries to slow down, hoping that no one noticed, when his gaze meets Granger's.

_Of course_. If there was _one_ person in the whole Gryffindor Dungeon capable of spotting him this way, they couldn't be anyone but her.  
“Malfoy” she calls, and doesn't smile. “You're looking for Harry, aren't you?”  
Draco can't help but react. He opens his mouth, ready to fight, when a familiar voice anticipates his.  
“I wasn't expecting to see you here” Harry says, and Draco turns around to face him. He feels calmer already, just inhaling his scent and listening to his voice- he can barely accept it, but the bond is working. _Thankfully_.

Draco doesn't know what to say- he's too busy trying to recover from his anxiety, anyway.  
“Is something upsetting you?” Harry asks, breaking the ice. Draco stiffens- he had forgotten about the way Harry is now able to feel his emotions.  
“I-- no, everything is--”  
“I guess I should give you some privacy” Hermione just rolls her eyes, and casts some spell directly at them; Draco almost reaches for his wand, but Harry grabs his wrist before he can get to it.  
Draco gives up his efforts immediately. Harry's touch on his wrist is- it's not _gentle_ , his grip is strong, but he clearly doesn't want to hurt him. Just that little touch makes Draco's head feel a little lighter, and he finds himself able to speak again.  
“What-”  
“She can't hear us, now” Harry explains calmly. “We know you don't trust us.”  
Draco frowns at him. “Yeah” he agrees. “I don't.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “What did you come here for, Malfoy?” he asks, and then speaks again. 

“Why are you so upset?”  
“I just came here to--” he hesitates. He hadn't thought of an excuse. “Take another look at our room. I need to know exactly how much space I have for my stuff before I bring anything in.”  
Harry shakes his head. “Yeah, whatever. If you don't want to, then don't tell me.”  
Draco huffs- he looks down, at Harry's fingers around his wrist. It feels good.  
“So many emotions” Harry mutters, and Draco looks up at him again. “Is that how it feels to be in your head?”  
“Sorry for having _feelings_ , Potter” he hisses. “I can't feel yours, so I guess you just don't feel anything.”  
That draws a laughter from Harry's mouth- it's unexpected, and a beautiful sound. “I don't think so. But you really need to calm down, because your feelings are giving me a headache.”

He puts his free hand on Draco's elbow, and Draco tenses. Just a second later, Harry mutters, “this seems to help.”  
“It's just because of the bond” Draco clarifies defensively. “Don't get this wrong, Potter. I _hate_ being touched by you.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “I'm going to the common room with Hermione and Ron. You coming with us?”  
Draco's whole body stiffens immediately. The common room- _Gryffindors_ common room- ...that's too much. He's not one of them. He's a _Slytherin_ , for Merlin's sake. He can't-  
“Well, the library will do just fine as well” Harry says, changing his mind all of a sudden. Draco is silently grateful, and just nods.

Harry casts the counter spell and Draco feels like they're stepping out of a bubble. Harry's light touch on his arms disappears, but his presence is enough for Draco to keep his anxiety under control- and that's what matters. Even if he hates it.  
Hermione just eyes him before leading the way, not asking any question. “Let me guess” she says, “to the library?”  
“To the library” Harry confirms. Hermione sighs.  
“I'll go tell Ron, or he'll wait in the common room forever and won't get any work done” she says. “We'll join you in a few minutes.”  
“Alright” Harry nods, and walks out of the dungeon. Draco follows him, forcing himself to ignore all the stares they get as they walk.

“Gossip” Harry groans, apparently reading his mind. “I hate it.”  
“Yeah” Draco grunts, “me too. They can freaking _smell_ it.”  
Harry turns towards him, raising one eyebrow. “Can they really?” he asks, surprised.  
“They can _feel_ it, mostly” Draco explains, lowering his gaze. “Whenever you touch me, your smell lingers on me- and vice versa. Obviously, that only happens between Mates.”  
“I see. So, is that why they put us in a room together?”  
Draco shrugs. “Kind of.”  
“When are you going to talk to your family?”  
The question, asked so abruptly, stops Draco in his tracks. He stops walking, and Harry stops too.  
“I know that's the reason why you're upset” Harry says, voice low and careful. He doesn't want to be heard by others. “It's quite obvious, in fact.”  
“This is not your business, Potter-”  
“I think it kinda is” Harry insists. “Whatever you decide to do with this bond _includes_ me, yeah? I need to know what you're thinking.”  
“Whatever I _decide_ to do with the bond?” Draco echoes him. “Potter, if I only had _one_ way I could decide for myself, we'd be free of this bond by now, believe me.”  
“But I can't concentrate, with you being so upset” Harry says, “so _do_ talk to me. You know this is supposed to calm you down, yeah? Just- I'll do what needs to be done.”  
“There's nothing you can do anyway, Potter” Draco hisses. “You can't always be the bloody hero.”  
Harry grimaces. “I wast just trying to help _my Omega_ , Malfoy.”

And that's when Draco actually loses it.  
He turns around in one swift, extremely quick motion. “Don't you _dare_ ” he spits, invading Harry's personal space with just one step, “I'm not _your_ Omega. And don't you use that status when talking to me _ever_ again-”  
“But that's what you are!” Harry insists, not taking any step back. “We're mates, and-”  
“You were the one talking about breaking the bond just a minute ago” Draco snarls, cutting him off. “Why don't you try to understand what _you_ want, before offering _me_ your help? Idiot.”

Harry opens his mouth to answer -and probably punch Draco after just one sentence- when Hermione and Ron step into the library, eyeing them suspiciously.  
“You literally _smell_ of bickering” Hermione says casually, “well. As long as you don't interfere with my studying, you can do whatever you want.”  
Ron looks very unhappy with the statement, and doesn't take his eyes off Draco even when Draco notices his staring. “For Merlin's sake, Weasley” he snaps after three minutes or so, “ _stop_.”  
“Will you be around for every day to come?” Ron asks, sounding worried. He looks up at Harry, as if asking him desperately to tell him that, nope, Draco's presence there is only temporary.  
“I surely don't like it any more than you do” Draco answers hastily, crossing his arms around his chest.  
Ron looks like he's going to say something else, but Hermione elbows him in the ribs and his mouth shuts. For the first time ever, Granger has done something good- Draco has to admit it.  
He sighs and decides to starts studying as well. Maybe that'll put his mind off the thought of his parents for a bit, and meanwhile, Harry's presence will soothe him.  
He takes a deep breath, and forces himself to focus on his books.

 

///

 

His first night in the new room isn't as awkward as Draco had expected it to be.  
Well, that's mostly due to the fact that Harry's already asleep when Draco walks into the room, back from the Slytherin Dungeon- yeah, he has no intention of giving up his title, nor his dungeon-, but Draco is relieved nonetheless. He's not sure he could handle a conversation with Potter like that, seeing him all ready for sleep and soft-looking.

Potter's glasses are placed on the nightstand next to Harry's bed, and Draco hesitates a few seconds before he decides to take a few steps towards him.  
He's just curious to see what he looks like when he's sleeping, really. He's never seen him without glasses.  
But, just as he bends over slightly to look at his face, Harry huffs and turns around. Draco almost jumps back, terrified at the idea of being caught.  
He has already embarrassed himself enough- plus, he doesn't have any energy left for bickering right now. He needs to sleep.  
He lays on his own bed, closes his eyes, and hopes to get asleep soon.

///

 

Lucius has just arrived to Hogwarts.  
He's waiting for Draco to join him, and Draco feels himself tremble as he walks- he's scared, and worried, and could really use one of Harry's gentle touches right now, thank you very much--  
He stops abruptly when he sees his father; the man only raises one eyebrow at him, as Draco tries to regain control of himself.  
He manages to walk a bit slower, getting a few steps closer to him. He greets him, and desperately hopes that he won't disown him.  
“You seem quite concerned, Draco” Lucius says, eyeing him suspiciously. “And it is pretty unusual for you to call me with such urgency. Has someone bothered you to the point that you're now feeling _scared_ , Draco?”  
Draco doesn't know whether to nod or to shake his head. This is going to be so incredibly difficult.

“Father” he calls, without answering his question. “I have something to tell you.”  
“Then, you shall speak” Lucius says, frowning at him. “What is it?”  
Draco wishes he knew how to make his words sound better, but truth is he already knows that they'll sound bad to his father's ears anyway. “I presented” he says, holding his breath. “Two days ago, just as I arrived to Hogwarts.”  
“Well, it was about time” Lucius nods, and one corner of his lips curls slightly upwards. “I should find a woman for you to marry, then. Unless you already-”  
“Yes” Draco cuts him off, and then bites his tongue. His father doesn't like to be interrupted when he speaks. “Sorry, Father. I already- I already have a mate.”  
“A pure-blood woman, I guess.”  
Draco swallows. He feels like he can't breathe. “Not a pure-blood” he says quietly, “and not a woman.”  
It happens, just like Draco had expected it to happen. Lucius frowns, fastens his gaze on him, takes a stronger hold of his stick- Draco can easily see his head pressed between his father's fingers, instead of the snake's on the stick.

“Well” Lucius mutters, eyebrows furrowed in disappointment. His attempts to be rational and not lose his composure in a public place are evident. “This certainly isn't good to hear. But at least, you being an Alpha, we should be able to find a way for you to have heirs anyway, maybe outside of the marriage-”  
“I'm not” Draco says, and his voice is barely audible. Lucius' whole body stiffens.  
“You're not, _what_?” he asks, tone of voice getting higher. He has already understood, and Draco can tell it by the mad look in his eyes, the deep furrow between his eyebrows, the way his feet start moving towards him as he's going to attack him-  
“An Alpha” Draco spits, finally. “I'm not an Alpha. I presented as Omega.”

Lucius shakes his head, incredulously. Draco keeps speaking- if he's going to tell his father the truth, he might as well deliver it all _now_. “And my mate-”  
“I don't need to hear a _word_ about your mate, Draco” Lucius snarls, “the only thing worse than you being an Omega is your mate being-”  
“Potter” Draco finishes for him. He lowers his gaze, closes his eyes. “Potter is my mate.”

Silence.

Draco can feel it burning into his ears. Silence, so thick and heavy- he wants to cry, and really feels like throwing up right now.  
Nausea is growing inside his stomach, and Draco is almost going to excuse himself and run to the toilet when his father hits him.  
He slaps him- _hard_ , and his cheek just burns like hell. “Such a disappointment” Lucius hisses, his voice so low and angry that Draco can barely hear it- his ears are full of that slapping sound, so loud and painful.

“You're such a disgrace for your family” Lucius says, behind gritted teeth. He raises his arm again, and Draco can already tell that he's going to slap him again.  
He closes his eyes, but nothing happens. That's why he opens them again, as he suddenly hears McGonagall's voice- much closer than expected, too. 

“I believe that your time here as come to an end, Mr. Malfoy” she says, holding her wand in her hand. She must have cast a spell on Lucius' wrist, since his hand has stopped in mid-air.  
“My son deserves a punishment for what he's done, and I won't leave until-”  
“He's not responsible for his status, Mr. Malfoy” McGonagall cuts him off, approaching them. “You should know better than that. And I want you out of my school _right now_.”  
From the look of it, McGonagall's cast on Lucius' wrist must be painful- his skin has turned an angry red in just a few seconds.  
“We're in the Slytherin Area, and only Snape can tell me to leave this place” Lucius insists, gazing at Draco with pure rage in his eyes. Draco gulps- his cheek still burns.

“That's true indeed” Mc onagall smiles, “but, Mr. Malfoy being Alpha Harry Potter's Omega mate, he is now assigned to _me_.”  
Now, Lucius' wrist is turning dangerously purple. “I suggest you leave right now, Mr. Malfoy. You're being a threat to one of my students, and I can't let you around them any longer.”  
Lucius grunts and looks at them both with fire burning in his eyes. “Fine” he spits, “but this isn't the end. You'll hear from me, Draco.”  
His wrist is released from McGonagall's spell, and he walks away faster than Draco has ever seen him.

Draco waits for his father to be far away from eyesight, and then turns awkwardly towards McGonagall. “I-- uhm- thank you?” he says quietly.  
McGonagall just smiles at him. “Can you walk to your room, or do I need to tell your mate to come here?”  
“I'm not-” Draco grits his teeth. “I'm not something _fragile_ , you know.”  
He sounds more aggressive than he intended to, but McGonagall doesn't flinch. “Omegas can feel extremely vulnerable after presenting, Mr. Malfoy. It's entirely normal-”  
“I can walk to my room” he cuts her off, but isn't actually feeling good _at all_.  
“Alright, then” McGonagall says patiently- her eyes speak more than her words, and Draco knows that she can see right through his lies. “Your mate will know about your distress even before you'll get to your room, anyway.”  
Draco just lowers his gaze, and starts walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave kudos if you liked this ♥


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT Jan 2017: now beta'd by Apieceofpaper ♥  
> Enjoy!

Draco's shaking.  
His hands, his shoulders, his whole body- everything is shaking, the _world_ is shaking, and Draco cannot breathe and cannot stop his feet from moving, he's running and just hopes to disappear.  
Potter is nowhere to be seen, and he isn't even in their room. Draco grits his teeth, rage and pain mixing inside of him, and everything is too _hot_ \- he takes his cloak off, throwing it somewhere on the floor.

When he opens his eyes again, Potter is standing in front of him. His gaze is fastened on him, and his eyes look big and concerned behind the glasses.  
“Where _were_ you?” Draco hisses. He reaches for his wand, but Harry stops his wrists just in time.  
“I was looking for you” he explains, trying to calm him down. “Your feelings-”  
“I don't _care_ about my feelings” Draco cuts him off, “I only wish I could get rid of them.”  
Draco's head is hurting, everything is hurting so _much_. “Malfoy” Harry calls him, and Draco could swear to hear pain in his voice as well, “Malfoy-”  
“I'm not going to be a Malfoy any longer” Draco mutters absently, covering his face with his hands. He's hiding from Harry and from the rest of the world- if he could, he'd hide from himself just as well.

“ _Draco_ ” Harry tries again, and actually manages to make Draco stop muttering under his breath. He takes hold of his wrists again, gently moving his hands away from his face.  
“I'm sorry” he says quietly. “Calm down.”  
Harry doesn't really know what to do, and that much is obvious. He strokes Draco's arm awkwardly, watching him as Draco stares firmly at the ground.

“Do you want to- lay down, maybe?” he asks, his voice barely higher than a whisper. Draco just nods fervently- he feels like the floor is going to disappear from under his feet.  
In the blink of an eye, Draco is lying on his bed and Harry is lying right beside him. His hand is still stroking his arm, but that's not enough and it will _never_ be enough-

“Hush” Harry whispers, trying to meet his gaze. Draco doesn't let him. “Deep breaths.”  
Draco does as he's told, inhaling and exhaling, fast and deep. “Slow down” Harry says, “or you'll faint.”  
It was meant to be a joke, to sound calm and light, but it just makes Draco's panic grow stronger. Harry can sense it, of course, and both his hands move quickly to unbutton his shirt sleeves.  
He starts stroking Draco's very skin, cold and pale under his fingers. His wrist, his arm. This does seem to calm Draco, even just a tiny bit; with no layer of clothing between Harry's skin and his own, air comes more easily to Draco's lungs.  
Harry must sense that too- he moves closer to Draco, and attempts to smile reassuringly.

“Relax” he mutters quietly. “You're going to be okay.”  
“I'm not” Draco mutters back, shaking his head. “Why are you even helping me?”  
“Because I'm your Alpha” Harry answers, before even realizing what he's saying. “I'm going to take care of you.”  
Just as unexpectedly as those words came out of Harry's mouth, Draco nods and speaks. “Okay” he whispers. “This is all your fault, and I hate you.”  
“Maybe you're right” Harry just rolls his eyes. “I'll be there for you, Draco.”  
“You're going to regret these sappy words” Draco says, and Harry chuckles quietly. This is working. He can feel Draco relaxing.  
“Deep breaths” he reminds him, and slowly raises his free hand to stroke his hair. He finds it unexpectedly soft, and Draco closes his eyes.  
“Someone likes his hair to be touched” Harry hums, smiling. Draco shakes his head, but doesn't move away- that only makes Harry's lips curl upward more and more.  
Several minutes go by, just like that. Draco's heartbeat slows down, and he just focuses on Harry's hand moving slowly from his wrist to his elbow.

He can feel his fingertips moving, slowly, feather-like, on his bare skin. And it's _good_ \- no, actually, so much more than just good-  
“I was- you know, the reason why I wasn't here before, is because I was studying with Hermione in the library. Do you-”  
“Yes” Draco cuts him off, nodding. “Yes. I'll join you.”  
Harry chuckles. “You can't stand Hermione” he reminds him, quietly.  
“Yeah, well” Draco tugs at his t-shirt, “I'll pretend she doesn't exist.”  
His hand radiates such heat that Harry can feel his fingers on his skin. He closes his eyes- he's not supposed to be the one relaxing, but he just can't help it.  
“Actually” he mutters, “I don't need to study that much. I'm pretty sleepy...”  
Draco tugs at his sleeve again, like a stubborn child. “You _do_ ” he frowns, “I want someone _intelligent_ at my side. You won't shame me, Potter.”  
And that really, _really_ isn't supposed to happen, but Harry bursts out in laughter Draco still frowns at him, but his expression slowly changes and soon he's smiling as well.  
“Alright” Harry grins, and gets up. “Let's go. My books are already there, do you need yours?”  
Draco almost _tsks_ him.  
“I only need my brain, scarhead.”

*

Harry just stares at them.  
They've been bickering, arguing and shouting all evening; Hermione's face is red with rage, and fire is burning in Mafloy's eyes. He's not _mad_ ; Harry can tell that, behind all that screaming, he's actually enjoying it.  
“I thought I came here to study” Harry tries to speak. In exchange, both Draco and Hermione look at him with their eyes wide and wild.

“ _You_ shut the hell up” Draco says, just as Hermione points him with an accusatory finger. “This is all your fault!” she adds.  
Harry sighs. “I'm going to my room.”  
“ _Our_ room” Draco points out, “and you're going nowhere without me, Potter.”  
“No way!” Hermione shakes her head. “He's staying here! We were supposed to _study_!”  
Then she rolls her eyes -probably at her own words. “Oh, right, _the bond_ ” she says to herself, “whatever. See you tomorrow, Harry.”  
Harry just nods at her, before reaching absently for Draco's elbow. He looks down at his hand as soon as he realizes what he's doing, and frowns at his fingers holding onto him.

“I don't mind” Draco shrugs. Can he read his mind, now?  
Harry rolls his eyes. “Shut up” he mutters. _I just need to touch you_ he thinks, but doesn't say anything.

Draco almost jumps. Harry widens his eyes at him, surprised.  
“What? What was that?” Draco asks. Harry raises an eyebrow, confused.  
“ _I_ should be the one asking you” he answers.  
“I heard you speak” Draco explains, “but didn't see your mouth moving.”  
For a second, a smooth grin takes the place of his confused expression. “And you were saying sappy things.”

Harry tries to hide his blush- and fails. “You didn't hear me speak, you idiot” he huffs, “you heard me _think_.”  
Draco widens his eyes. “So” he says quietly, “you can feel my emotions and I can read your mind?”  
“Well, yeah. I think so” Harry just shrugs. Just to be sure, _fuck off_ he thinks.  
“Hey!” Draco scolds him, and Harry laughs. “That wasn't nice.”  
 _It's weird, to interact with him this way_ Harry thinks, before he can stop himself.  
“Yeah” Draco mutters. “I know. It's because of the bond- I hate this part more than you do.”  
 _I don't think so._  
“Just trust me, Potter.”  
 _I like the feeling of your skin below my fingertips._  
Draco blushes, raising one of his eyebrows.  
 _Get out of my head, Malfoy!_  
“Never” Draco grins.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo. I just want to thank Apeiceofpaper (also known as TheGirlWhoCouldFly) , who beta'd this chapter! Now things should go nice and smooth lol. She was super fast to beta this chapter and I can't thank her enough.  
> Enjoy!

Draco has always loved the cool morning air.  
He can feel it hovering in the room, above his and Harry's bed. They were actually meant to sleep in just _one_ bed, big enough for the both of them, but the idea still feels too strange to both of them. That would feel _way_ too awkward.  
That's why Draco finds himself enjoying the cool morning breeze by himself, opening his eyes to the sunlight coming from the open curtains. He feels himself slowly waking up, ready to start a new day.  
Then, Potter reminds him of his presence.  
He mutters something under his breath, and Draco knows he must be still sleeping; he sits up on his bed with his legs crossed, and just watches him.  
Potter must be dreaming about something. Something _unpleasant_ , actually; Draco can see him gritting his teeth, frowning at something only he can see.  
He doesn't like the idea of Potter being hunted by nightmares- he also doesn't want to have breakfast by himself, not knowing that Harry will sit right behind him, with his back turned to his own. That's why he decides to throw a pillow directly at him, hoping to wake him up.  
Draco wasn't expecting him to wake up that easily, actually, but Potter comes back to full consciousness immediately; he gasps, looks around himself, checks for enemies with his gaze and then looks at Draco.  
"Did you do it?" he asks, eyeing Draco's pillow on the floor. His eyes are still wild with fear, but aside from that he looks normal- this must be a common thing to happen to him, having nightmares and then waking up to the necessity of living like nothing had happened.  
"Nope" Draco lies. "Would you give it back, though?"  
Harry rolls his eyes and throws the pillow back at him- he manages to hit him right on top of his head, but Draco only grimaces at him.  
Harry Potter looks beautiful in the cool morning air. His hair is dark and messy, his eyes big and blue-green and his eyelashes thick and black. He's grown a light stubble on his face during the night, and Draco has to admit quietly to himself that it really suits him. He looks- yeah. He looks _good_.  
He opens his mouth to say that aloud, something innocent on the lines of _why don't you stop shaving for a few days? I'm curious to see what you look like_ , but then he finds himself blushing and his mouth shuts automatically. He thinks of that very light stubble growing a little bit _less_ light; he thinks of Harry rubbing his cheeks to the inside of his thighs, softly, setting Draco's skin on fire.  
Harry raises an eyebrow up at him, clearly feeling his emotions. "Well?" he asks. "Why are you so embarrassed?"  
"I won't tell you" Draco answers, hiding his blush behind a grin. "We gotta hurry" he continues, "or we're going to be late to breakfast."  
Harry groans (and not too quietly). "But, it's only _breakfast_ " he whines like a child, "we don't need to be there on time, do we?"   
“We _do_ , Potter” Draco answers, getting up to throw his blankets away. “I'm always on time wherever I go, and you should be as well.”  
Harry just groans, trying to cover himself with the blankets again. Draco tugs at them stubbornly, until Harry just sighs and surrenders.  
“Rise and shine” Draco smirks, irony clear in his tone, and Harry rolls his eyes.

 

///

 

Harry has been on time the whole day; Draco has been dragging him to all his classes, and Hermione's eyes are probably going to pop out of their sockets before the end of the lessons.  
“I can't believe it!” she whispers, even while Snape is talking. “It's the _fifth_ time you're on time today! And you were here even _before_ me!”  
Harry just shrugs weakly. “It's all Malfoy's fault, isn't it?” Ron suggests, and gazes at him. Draco is sitting away from them, but from time to time Ron notices Harry's eyes looking at him.  
“And will you stop _checking_ him?” he adds, frowning. “It's not like he's going to disappear or anything, mate. Relax.”  
Harry just shrugs again. “Can't help it” he says, and Draco looks back at him right then; Ron can see him smirking, just as he could hear his voice even from that distance.  
Hermione must think the same, because she gives Harry a surprised look. “He is- _can_ he-”  
“Yeah” Harry nods. “He can. I can feel his emotions, and he can read my mind.”  
He sees no point in hiding them the truth- plus, Hermione's confused face has always been priceless.  
“This is kind of bizarre, isn't it?” Ron asks quietly, after some seconds of pure shock. “Mates shouldn't be supposed to be able to do that this soon.”  
“Yes, Harry” Hermione adds, “it usually takes _months_.”  
Harry opens his mouth to answer, but he catches Draco looking at him and then looking away, just as his feelings change.  
Harry tries to hide his smile. _Eager to be close to me again, Malfoy?_  
Harry can't read his mind, but he can easily guess what Draco would answer to his question. He sees him turning his head quickly, but still notices him blushing slightly.  
 _You could have sat here. I'm sure Ron wouldn't mind._  
Draco raises one eyebrow at him, offended. Harry chuckles- he completely ignores Ron and Hermione staring at him like he's going crazy.  
 _I can already tell Ron that you're going to sit next to me from tomorrow on. Plus, I think he'll be more than happy to sit next to Hermione..._   
Harry still stares at Draco, waiting for his answer, when Snape's hands on his table and his voice suddenly shouting at him make him almost jump.  
“Potter” Snape calls him, “you're too arrogant to pay attention, aren't you?”  
He eyes Draco, raising one of his eyebrows in contempt. “Yes, I see you pretending to be innocent, Malfoy” he adds, “and both of you are doing special homework for the next lesson. I won't tolerate such teeth-rotting romance during my lecture.”  
Harry can feel Draco being embarrassed to death. He's not used to Snape's scolding as much as Harry is.  
He would love to turn around and see Draco's facial expression right now, in answer to his thoughts, but Snape would notice; and that definitely wouldn't help their case. Harry just surrenders and wait until the end of the lesson.  
He tries to keep his mind away from Malfoy. He wonders if he can; would the bond permit that, if he exercises it enough?  
At the end of the lesson, Snape calls both him and Draco to his table. He gives them some more assignments, and Harry fights the urge to roll his eyes.  
Then, he follows Draco out of the classroom. His face is red with rage.  
“All your fault!” Draco snarls, looking angrily at him. “Aren't you able to take your eyes off me for a minute?”  
Harry widens his eyes, offended. “ _Me_?” he says. “ _You_ were the one who couldn't stop staring at me!”  
Draco blushes furiously. “That's because you wouldn't stop thinking sappy, stupid things! And now we have five potions books to read in a week!”  
“That could have been worse-”  
“Snape wouldn't have punished me. He found himself forced to, only because he wanted to punish _you_ in the first place!”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “Would you stop blaming me? Lessons have just finished, and we could use this time to start reading all of those. Couldn't we?”  
Draco stares at him, and then nods. “Yeah” he agrees, but his eyes still look angry.  
“Our room?” Harry asks. Draco rolls his eyes.  
“Of course, it's the only quiet place we can find at the moment.”  
Harry rolls his eyes as well, leading the way to their room. It's already dark outside, and they need to light a few candles before they start studying.  
They sit on their beds, not even looking at each other. Draco would mutter an annoyed _stop thinking, Potter, you're too loud_ from time to time.  
When dinner time comes, they're both more than just relieved to finally stop studying. Draco sits at his usual place, gazes silently to Harry and smiles a little to himself. Blaise laughs jokingly at him.  
“Happy about something, Draco?”   
“Shut up, idiot.”

///

 

“You're finally drifting off. _Thank Merlin_ , Potter.”  
Harry blinks at the sound of Draco's voice. He moves his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and sniffs sleepily.   
Draco groans loudly. “Aaand now your mind is filling with thoughts again.”  
“You can only blame yourself, really” Harry eyes him, and he looks tired. “But, thank you.”  
Draco raises one questioning eyebrow at him. “What are you thanking me for?” he asks, confused. “I woke you up. Most people would hate that.”  
“Not me, though” Harry murmurs, holding back a yawn. “I hate falling asleep.”  
“Because of your nightmares?” Draco asks. Harry's eyes widen.   
“You are-”  
“ _Of course_ , Potter” Draco cuts him off, rolling his eyes. “I can read your mind, remember? I'm pretty positive that your thoughts woke me up this morning, even though I can't actually say that for sure. I just hope you won't be too loud next time.”  
“And I just hope I won't see too many terrifying things tonight” Harry sighs. “It's better if I just don't fall asleep, really.”  
Draco frowns. “You won't be able to keep yourself from sleeping forever, Harry.”  
“But I'll try” Harry shrugs, opening his Potions book again. “And I have to finish studying this anyway.”  
 _“Harry, your brain needs sleep in order to function. If you don't sleep, you won't learn a thing. How can you be so stupid?”_  
Draco has no choice but to agree with Granger's voice in Harry's thoughts, probably a memory of the past.  
“Yeah” he huffs. “Granger's right.”  
Harry groans. “She hunts me even in my mind, doesn't she?”  
“I guess your conscience sounds like her, Scarhead.”  
A weak reply starts growing in Harry's mind, but then he discards it in order to look at Draco. Draco can read his thoughts, of course; he listens to Harry's brain identifying the perfect shade of his hair color and hears Harry catalog his eyes as _silver_ , and can't help but blush. Harry blushes as well.  
“Sorry” he huffs, embarrassed. “I can't help it. This wouldn't be so stupidly awkward if you'd stop reading my mind, thought.”  
“I don't _know_ how to stop, idiot” Draco hisses. “It's not like I _like_ reading your silly mind.”  
“Whatever” Harry sighs -he's just too tired to argue, and Draco feels weirdly concerned about him. “Just because I can't sleep doesn't mean you have to stay awake as well. Get some rest.”  
Draco would love to argue, partly because it's fun and partly because he doesn't like the idea of leaving Harry alone with his mind. But he doesn't need to read his mind to see the quiet plea in his eyes; he's too exhausted to fight.  
“Okay” he just nods. Harry gives him a tiny smile -Draco finds himself blushing and absolutely _hates_ himself for it- and Draco just forces himself to fall asleep as fast as he can.  
“Just so you know” he mutters sleepily, barely awake, “next time, I'm staying up all night with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and comments if you liked it ♥ next chapter will be longer!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter! I want to thank Apeiceofpaper, my beta, and I hope you all enjoy.  
> I have to say that I love this chapter~ I hope you like it as well~

“You look tired.”  
Harry groans. “Hermione, please” he huffs, “do you _really_ need to give me a lecture this early in the morning?”  
Hermione raises one eyebrow at him, crossing her arms at her chest. “We have a test _tomorrow_ ” she says, “you need to study. I won't let you get bad grades, Harry.”  
“Neither will I” Draco helpfully supplies, from the other end of the table. Harry just groans again, wondering if he could smack his head against the wooden surface hard enough to split his face in two.

Draco shudders. “Potter!” he gasps. “That's a hasty thought!”  
Hermione rolls her eyes. “What did he think this time?”  
Harry speaks before Draco has a chance to. “Can we just study, if that's what I'm awake for? This is some weird friendship you're developing here, bonding over my lack of sleep.”  
Draco widens his mouth, offended. “Me? Bonding with Granger?”  
Hermione points an accusatory finger at him. “Don't you _start_ , Malfoy-”  
“That's it” Harry sighs, “I'm leaving.”  
“No!” Hermione catches his wrist just in time, clutching it so hard that it hurts. Draco eyes them both, grinning amusedly.  
“Alright” he announces, his gaze meeting Harry's. His grin is so genuine -and, yet, teasing- that Harry can't help but blush slightly. “Studying it is.”

///

“Harry. Harry, mate? McGongall is going to kill you if you don't wake up.”  
Ron is shaking him rather gently, but Harry wakes up with a gasp nonetheless. Ron looks at him pitifully.  
“You look _so_ bad” he says helpfully.  
“Thanks, Ron” Harry sighs. “Just what I wanted to hear. This will give me strength to go on.”  
Ron chuckles. “I know what will for sure” he murmurs, cautiously eyeing McGongall to make sure she doesn't see them not paying attention. “You and Malfoy, eh?”  
Harry stares at him like he's just grown another head. “ _Me and Malfoy_?” he echoes, disbelieving. “You woke me up to chat about _me and Malfoy_?”  
Ron tries to hush him, nodding in McGongall's direction as if to remind his best friend of her presence. “Technically” he answers, “I woke you up because I don't want McGongall to punish you. You already have too much extra work to do as it is, don't you? Snape is such a-”  
McGongall casually looks just across their desk, and Ron falls shut instantly. He waits until McGongall turns around to open his mouth again.  
“Anyway” he continues, and grins smugly, “you and Malfoy, eh?”  
Harry just sighs. He's got the worst best friends in the world.  
“Me and Malfoy” he nods hopelessly. “What do you want to know?”  
Ron looks lost in his thoughts for a moment, and Harry genuinely worries about what he's going to ask.  
“How can you keep yourself from strangling him in his sleep?” Ron finally asks. Harry rolls his eyes.  
“I don't want him to die, you know” he huffs. “Quite the contrary, in fact. He's my mate, and I feel protective of him even if I hate him.”  
“Like, crazy protective?” Ron prompts him.  
“No” Harry hisses, blushing. “Stop laughing” he adds, “you'll get us punished!”  
“Yeah, sorry” Ron says quietly, still chuckling. “So...is this actually happening? Like, for real?”  
“For real” Harry ensures seriously. Draco isn't there, he's got another lesson to attend in some other classroom- Harry wonders if he can read his mind from such distance and know that he's silently, unavoidably, looking forward to seeing him again.

Then he feels Draco's uneasiness, and he can't help but chuckle.  
_Didn't want you to feel uneasy. Sorry._  
It's such a shame he can't read Draco's mind as well. He would absolutely love to entertain himself with Draco's thoughts during boring lessons- he can just about imagine what Draco's thoughts would be like.  
_Unicorns, butterflies,_ me _and some shiny robes, I'm sure._  
Now he can feel Draco's anger- it's so easy to get him furious, and Harry likes it way more than he should.  
“Harry” Ron calls him, reminding Harry of his existence. Oh, right, the rest of the world is still going on while he's busy bothering Draco.

“Yes” he provides, nodding. Ron rolls his eyes.  
“Another mental conversation with Malfoy?” he asks. “You're kinda creepy when you smile and laugh to yourself.”  
“It's not really a mental conversation” Harry clarifies. “He can read my mind and I can sense his feelings. We don't really communicate.”  
Ron groans. “So _emphatic_ you are” he complains, like it's personally bothering him to see Harry and Draco bonding that easily. “Such a sweet couple.”  
Harry opens his mouth to argue, but that last statement freezes him on the spot. _Couple._  
“Oh Merlin” he gasps. “That's what we are now, isn't it?”  
“Yep” Ron confirms, shrugging. “A revolting one, if you want to know my personal opinion. Already so connected to each other's minds.”  
“It's not like _I_ wanted this in the first place!” Harry says defensively.  
“Look, I'm just saying” Ron mutters, “isn't he getting a _bit_ too close to Hermione?”  
And that's when all of Harry's rage just disappears. Sooner than he knows, he's fighting back a loud, amused laugh threatening to burst out of him.

“You're _jealous_!” he says, trying to keep his voice low. “You think that Hermione and Draco will become _friends _and that she'll like him _more___ than she likes you!”  
“What?” Ron blushes, offended. “That's not what I said. At all.”  
“That's _exactly_ what you said” Harry grins. “Listen. The two of them _loathe_ each other. They surely have their fun when they argue, but there's no way in _hell_ Hermione will _ever_ like someone more than she likes you.”  
Harry thought Ron couldn't blush any much more. He was clearly wrong. “Now you're just exaggerating things” he mutters.  
“I'm deadly serious” Harry ensures. “Malfoy is nothing but an annoying, arrogant, evil, rude, spoiled guy” he lists, “and Hermione isn't buying any of that.”  
Ron chuckles. “You are, though.”  
Harry rolls his eyes and smiles. “Unfortunately” he jokes, “I am.”  
Ron laughs and says something, but Harry abruptly stops listening to him.  
Draco's turned sad in a second.

“I don't like seeing you all grumpy. Such a look doesn't fit a Slytherin.”  
Draco looks up at Pansy, eyeing her like he would love to skin her alive right then and there. She sits calmly at the table, happily ignoring his furious gaze.  
“I couldn't care less about what fits a Slytherin and what doesn't” he spits. “Does having a Gryffindor for a mate suit a Slytherin? I don't think so” he says harshly.  
Pansy raises one eyebrow at him. “Well” she sighs, “someone's angry.”  
Her expression changes; she smiles amusedly. “What did he do? I'm sure he doesn't even know how to treat his mate. Potter's not such a hero, is he?”  
And Draco would nod, would open his mouth to express his large agreement and ramble about stupid Potter with his stupid scar and stupid broomstick and stupid eyes, but...  
But he's seen the way those stupid eyes look at him. He's seen the fondness behind them- the adoration. Harry sure as hell hates him, but- there's a part of him, Merlin knows where, that absolutely loves and cherishes him. And that is not something that he signed up for, nor something he wanted or would have ever expected, and yet- there it is.

Draco doesn't know if that's supposed to make him feel better or worse. He can quietly, _very_ silently admit to himself that he's always wanted Potter to look at him in that way; on the other hand, knowing there's no _real_ feeling behind the bond, Draco can't help but feel an agonizing tug at his heart.  
“I- I don't know, Pansy” he mutters absently. “Potter is okay.”  
It's as much as Draco will ever be able to say about him. Pansy widens his eyes.  
“Merlin” she whispers. “The bond- what people say about it- everything's _true_?”  
Draco opens his mouth to answer, but that's right when Potter's eyes -the same green, deep eyes he was thinking of just a few seconds ago- come suddenly in his eyesight.  
“Malfoy” he calls, deliberately ignoring Pansy's presence. “What happened?”  
“Oh Merlin” Pansy rolls her eyes, “I'm going to throw up now.”  
Ron shakes his head at her, disbelieving himself. “I know, right?”  
Harry and Draco ignore them both. “Go away, Potter” Draco hisses.  
“What happened?” Harry repeats stubbornly. Draco just gazes at the room they're in; he had just walked in the library when Pansy showed up and sat with him, and now some students have turned around to see the show.  
He huffs indignantly. Harry follows his gaze, and clears his throat.  
“Draco” he insists, trying to sound gentle. “May I have a quiet word with you?”  
“You may” Draco snarls. 

“Will you tell me, now?” Harry asks, as they walk in the gardens. ”Is it your father? Did he-”  
“Thanks for reminding me of my father, Scarhead” Draco hisses. Harry worries at his bottom lip, mentally cursing himself.  
“You got a bad grade, then?” he tries again. “I'm sorry if I kept you from focusing-”  
“You!” Draco cuts him off, turning around to face him all of a sudden. “How can you be so _blind_ , Potter?”  
“What?” Harry asks, confused. “What are you talking about?”  
“ _I_ wasn't the one talking, actually” Draco snaps, “ _you_ were.”  
And then it hits Harry.  
He feels so guilty, so tremendously mad at himself- he's hurt Draco. Mean, aggressive, unbearable...  
“Merlin! You're doing this _again_?!”  
...yet fragile, emotional, sensitive Draco.

Draco's expression changes in a second. He looks up at Harry, and then lowers his gaze.  
Harry sighs. “I didn't think you could hear my words too” he says. “I mean, I was talking, so-”  
“You _think_ when you speak, idiot” Draco mutters weakly. “I don't need to listen to your voice when you speak to know what you're saying. All the words you say come to your brain before they go out of your mouth, _obviously_.”  
His eyes flicker up at him, narrowed. “And that statement isn't making any of this sound any better, is it?”  
“I didn't mean any of that” Harry murmurs, taking a step towards him. Draco glares at him, taking a step back in response.  
“Don't you think you can just touch me and fix everything, Potter” he growls. “You'd better apologize with your words, instead of using our bond to trick me into forgiving you.”  
Harry almost gasps. How can Draco think such things?  
“I instinctively reached for you” he explains quietly. “I didn't want to trick you into doing anything, Draco.”  
He feels another wave of guilt wash over him. He was just starting to gain Draco's trust- and obviously, he's already losing it. 

“I really, _truly_ didn't mean any of that” he repeats. “I was just trying to reassure Ron. You see, he likes Hermione _so much_ \- I don't want him to doubt himself and never tell Hermione how much in love he is with her. They deserve to be happy.”  
“I'm- I'm trying to be different” Draco whispers, and Harry struggles to understand what he's talking about now. “I'm trying to stop being cruel to you. I'm trying to help you studying and focusing and I'm even trying to get along with Granger.”  
He closes his eyes, and for a second Harry thinks he's going to cry. “I'm _trying_ , Potter-”  
“I know you are” Harry hushes him, and this time Draco isn't quick enough to move away. Harry reaches for his shoulder and, before they both know it, Draco feels himself wrapped in a tight embrace. 

“This is my fault” Harry says, so quietly that no one but Draco would be able to hear him. “Hermione told me that you'd be over-emotional and all, and I forgot. But that doesn't matter. I shouldn't have said those things anyway, even if you were an Alpha and not an over-sensitive just presented Omega.”  
Draco huffs out a quiet chuckle. He can feel his bones relaxing in Harry's hug already. “Shut up” he murmurs. “I'm not a little girl, or whatever.”  
He's pleased to hear a chuckle rumble in Harry's chest as well, and tentatively holds him back. Harry's arms are wrapped around his waist, and Draco's are now wrapping quietly around Harry's shoulders in return. 

It feels positively good, to be this close to Harry's body. He snuggles into his shoulder before he can even think of what he's doing, just deeply breathing in his scent.  
Harry stiffens just for an instant before he smiles and relaxes again- Draco can feel his lips curling upwards from where they're brushing against his forehead.  
Harry spreads his hands broader on his lower back, thumbs moving soothingly in small circles against his green sweater. “Yep” he just agrees, but Draco could bet he's rolling his eyes as he says so. His voice has a quiet, playful tone, and Draco wonders if his own teasing tone of voice has really grown on Harry so quickly.  
His skin is warm and soft. Draco rests his temple against Harry's cheek, lips brushing lightly against his neck. 

Harry's scent is so _strong_ here. It's reassuring, familiar, and Draco feels light-headed.  
He can barely keep track of Harry's thoughts. _Calm. Soothed. Happy. Trustful._  
It's just a bunch of adjectives, but Draco hums quietly in agreement. Harry chuckles softly, still holding him tightly.  
“We should cuddle more” Harry mutters absent-mindedly, and then his thoughts change drastically; he's afraid he's said too much, that-  
“We should” Draco nods, stopping him. Just to remark his point, he nuzzles closer to him.  
“Maybe not out in the gardens, though” he adds, chuckling. He gently pulls out of Harry's hug, and suddenly realizes that all his rage is gone.  
Harry watches his facial expression change, senses his feelings and smiles weakly.  
“I wish I could read your mind the way you read mine” he sighs.  
“I think you could be able to” Draco says thoughtfully. “And I could be able to sense your feelings just as well.”  
Harry smiles affectionately at him, and Draco feels himself blushing at his gaze. There it is again, that fond, adoring look.  
Harry laughs, sensing his uneasiness. “Come on” he says, casually taking hold of Draco's wrist in his hand as he starts walking, “let's get back to our room.” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta reader Apieceofpaper!  
> Also, have some interesting stuff~
> 
> Edit: I totally didn't notice I updated my story with the chapter without corrections! Now here it is.

Draco knows that, if it weren't for Harry's gentle touch on his wrist, he would never, _ever_ let him do this.  
He would never let Potter drag him to their room, would never let him tell stupid jokes that sound strangely funny. If it weren't for his fingers wrapped warmly around his wrist, sending sparks of calm and happiness from his arm to his brain, Draco would free himself from his hold and hide himself from all of those eyes pointed at them.  
_Everyone_ 's looking. Every damn Hogwarts student is looking at them, walking nearly hand-in-hand up the stairs.  
But the thing is, Draco really _can't_ bring himself to care. As soon as Harry lets go of his wrist, all of this will be scary and humiliating; Draco will freak out and think about his reputation, about his father, about his _name and heritage_ , but not now. Not _now_. Right now, all Draco can think of is Harry's skin against his own, and nothing else really matters.  
Potter closes the door behind their backs as they walk into their room, still holding Draco's wrist in his hand. He doesn't let go even as he sits on his bed, smirking up at him.  
Draco huffs a quiet laughter. “Not your bed” he says, raising one blond eyebrow. “Too messy. Mine is better.”  
“Aw, come on” Harry groans jokingly, tugging at his wrist. Draco rolls his eyes, but gives up.  
He sits next to Harry, who just smiles at him like he's perfectly content. And Draco starts to feel himself blush.  
“You're so _cute_!” Harry teases him, shoving him lightly with his shoulder. Draco shoves him back, freeing his wrist from Harry's hold.  
Harry laughs and takes hold of his hand again; this time, however, he doesn't just touch his wrist. He laces their fingers together, almost out of habit, like they've done this their entire lives.  
And Draco looks down at their hands, tilting his head as he does so. He furrows his eyebrows in concentration, and fastens his gaze on the unexpected vision.  
Harry's skin looks so much darker than his own. Draco's skin has always been incredibly pale, as cold and white as snow; Harry's skin, instead, is tan and warm and makes Draco think of summer, of sea and salt and sun. Not that he's ever had the opportunity to sunbathe or swim in the sea- with his rare complexion, he would only get sun-burnt-, but...that's how he imagines being on a beach, anyway.  
“Regret?” Harry asks, a gentle tone in his voice as he speaks Draco's feelings aloud.  
“Yeah” Draco sighs, but doesn't really sound sad. “I've always wanted to go to the sea.”  
Harry widens his eyes. “That's- surprising?” he says. “Why-”  
“My skin is too pale, Potter” Draco cuts him off, his lips curling upwards teasingly. “Are you blind? If I were to go to the sea, I would completely ruin my skin.”  
His words sound like an old friend's joke, something teasing and affectionate. Harry rolls his eyes and smiles back- his fond, stupid smirk.  
“And it would be _such_ a pity” he teases back, his voice full of irony, “to get your beautiful pale skin all red and burnt, wouldn't it?”  
Draco huffs, biting back a chuckle. “Don't act like you don't like it, Scarhead.”  
“Never said I didn't” Harry mutters quietly, almost shyly. Draco blushes, looks at him, and then lets himself fall on the bed.  
Harry chuckles quietly, lying beside him in a second. Their fingers are still laced together.  
“What?” Draco asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Harry's looking at him like he's trying his real best not to laugh. “This is comfortable, isn't it?”  
Harry bites his bottom lip- he's _so_ going to laugh. “Yes” he nods, and gives a light tug to Draco's hand. He's quietly asking him to lay closer to him, and Draco silently does.  
“I miss the view from the Slytherin Dungeon” Draco says, speaking his mind aloud. Harry looks down at him, genuinely interested.  
Draco answers to his non-spoken question. “I could see the sea from my window. Oh, and, during night-time, I could hear the sound of the water lapping at the shore. It was _so_ relaxing, like a lullaby.”  
Harry opens his mouth as to say something, but then bites his bottom lip and furrows his eyebrows.  
_If you were to think of it right now, and if I could read your mind, I'd be able to see and hear through your memories. I would know what it was like to be there._  
Draco rolls his eyes. “I can read your mind” he sighs, sounding bored. Harry knows he actually isn't- he just likes to act like he is. “There's no need to keep your thoughts from me.”  
Draco moves just an inch closer, and Harry stiffens with anticipation. Draco chuckles- Harry can feel his laugh on his own lips, and he can't help but _think_ -  
“Nope, Potter” Draco says teasingly, “not going to kiss you. I was just wondering...”  
He lightly presses a fingertip to Harry's glasses. “How blind are you without these?”  
“I'm not blind” Harry protests. “I just, uhm...”  
The last thing Harry sees is an amused, genuinely happy smirk on Draco's lips. “Yeah” Draco says condescendingly, “I'm sure you don't even need these.”  
He takes Harry's glasses off, and everything is suddenly very unfocused and the only thing Harry can see properly is the platinum blonde of Draco's hair. His other senses come immediately to his help; Harry hears Draco put his glasses somewhere, probably on the nightstand, and then his familiar smell gets closer to him and there's a shuffling sound on the sheets. Draco's hand is not that cold anymore- their heat is shared, and Harry can _physically_ feel Draco's body heat gently grazing at his own skin.  
“So?” Draco prompts him, amusement clear in his tone. “What can you see?”  
Harry just answers with an annoyed huff. Draco laughs, and again Harry can feel that very chuckle brushing at his own lips.  
It's _intoxicating_.  
“Now now, Potter, stay focused” Draco purrs, and Harry really can't help but blush. Draco can surely feel his uneasiness, but deliberately decides to ignore it.  
“Okay, so, I know you're lying” Draco says, “but I'll give you a chance to prove me wrong.”  
Harry knows he's smirking, the evil bastard. “This one is easy. Where's my nose?”  
Harry groans. “Are we really playing this now?”  
Draco nods. “We are.”  
Harry just sighs, then reaches for Draco's nose with his free hand. Just as Draco said, it's pretty easy to find it even if Harry can't really see it.  
“Good” Draco hums. “My eyebrow.”  
“Your eyebrows are too pale to be seen even _normally_ , Malfoy” Harry protests. Then he sees something raising, and reaches for it just in time.  
“ _But_ you're constantly raising your eyebrow to look at everyone like you're better than them, so...”  
“That's because I _am_ better than them, Potter” Draco provides. Harry just rolls his eyes.  
“Now, my ear” Draco says.  
“But- your hair-” Harry tries to protest.  
“You can move it away from my face, can't you?” Draco cuts him off.  
Harry doesn't even say anything back; there's no point in arguing with a Slytherin.  
“Glad you've realized it” Draco comments, and Harry finally moves his hand up to his hair.  
Blond, soft- Harry knows what it looks like at night, when the moonlight paints it silver and makes it look even more beautiful. Harry brushes Draco's hair behind his ear, but doesn't move his own hand away after doing so; he keeps his fingers tangled in his hair, enjoying the feeling of something soft and pretty under his palm.  
“Found it” he breathes. Without noticing, he's moved even closer to Draco; his face is literally only a few inches away from his.  
From such a close distance, Harry can only see the silver in Draco's eyes. And it's beautiful, and out of focus, and so full of light that Harry can feel himself shaking and doesn't even know why.  
“Can you find my eyelids without making me as blind as you are?” Draco smirks.  
“This game is stupid” Harry just huffs in response, as he lets go of Draco's hand in order to reach out with his now free hand very slowly, very carefully, for Draco's closed eyes. Now that he can't see that stunning silver in Draco's irises, it's difficult to know where they are. Harry touches something soft and warm, and Draco clears his voice.  
“That's my cheek. Just a little bit higher, Potter.”  
Does that mean that Draco's blushing? Harry's so lost in his own feelings that he can't really tell them from Draco's anymore.  
Touch feather-like, Harry slowly trails his fingertips up to Draco's eyelids. Harry feels the soft caress of Draco's eyelashes on his skin, and knows he's found his eyelid as well.  
“I'm quite good at this game, am I not?” Harry teases.  
“We'll see about that” Draco challenges. “Find my lips, Harry.”  
Harry's heart flutters in his chest. He can picture Draco's lips out of memory- and he imagines them red from his gentle biting, swollen from his passionate kissing.  
Merlin, he's never wanted to kiss someone so badly in his entire life.  
Harry knows his hand must be shacking slightly, when he reaches out to Draco's face. Even if blurred to Harry's eyes, he knows where Draco's mouth is; he's always had beautiful lips, and Harry has often found himself staring at them in the last weeks.  
Harry's fingertips land on Draco's bottom lip, and Harry just breathes. He can feel _Draco_ 's breath ghosting over his skin, so warm and uneven, and there's _no_ way Draco isn't feeling as nervous as Harry is.  
“Found them” Harry whispers, his words almost inaudible. He traces Draco's lips with his thumb; the elegant arc of his mouth, the borders slightly curled upwards, and then lingers on this bottom lip.  
That's when Draco gently takes Harry's wrists in his hands, moving his away from his face. He gets even _closer_ to him, so close it's hard to think and to breathe; Draco shakes his head slowly -his hair grazing at Harry's cheeks- and mutters, “no, you haven't.”  
Harry's heart is beating _so_ fast. Draco's hands, holding his, are suddenly _too_ warm, and the entire world is spinning right in front of Harry's eyes.  
Draco closes his own, his pretty eyelashes lowering on his cheekbones and the silver in his irises disappearing slowly. And Harry moves forward, his heart hammering in his chest, Draco's scent surrounding him and covering him like a blanket- everything is _too much_ and _not enough_ -  
Finally, Harry's lips touch Draco's. Harry just lingers there, simply enjoying the warmth and softness of his mouth, too afraid of doing something terribly stupid, _but_ -  
Draco huffs against his mouth, genuinely annoyed by his hesitation, and kisses him.  
Harry would have never, _ever_ thought Draco could be this gentle when kissing someone. He's almost careful, waiting for Harry to take the lead, just pressing teasing kisses to his mouth; his hands let go of Harry's wrists, and move up to his chest.  
The gentle touch of his fingers on his shirt wakes Harry out of his trance. Harry finally kisses back, hoisting himself up on his elbows and towering over Draco, covering his mouth with gentle kisses.  
His hands move on their own, one stroking Draco's hair and the other caressing the soft skin of his neck, his jaw. Draco whines silently against his mouth, raising his chin to give more access to Harry's hand.  
Merlin, there's _something_ about his neck, something that drives Harry crazy. He needs to touch it, to kiss it, to _bite_ it-  
And he would immediately do so, if only Draco didn't open his mouth slightly to deepen the kiss; Harry doesn't waste the opportunity, taking his chance to explore Draco's mouth. It's warm, _so_ warm and somehow familiar, and Harry's tongue slides against Draco's and he really doesn't know if the quiet groans he hears are his or Draco's.  
Harry feels completely light-headed, like his own thoughts are just as blurred as the rest of the world before his eyes. He needs to bite Draco's neck, to _mark_ him, right now and right here-  
Someone knocks at the door. “Your father is here to see you, Mr. Malfoy” says someone right behind it, and Draco's feelings immediately change as his whole body stiffens.  
Harry groans and sighs at the same time- he moves away from Draco, not wanting to trap him under his body -even if, actually, that would be more than okay for him.  
He reaches out for his glasses tentatively, afraid to hurt himself or Draco with his blind, clumsy movements. His glasses are put back on the bridge of his nose just a second later, and Draco's scared eyes come back into eyesight.  
“Don't worry” Harry breathes, even as he's thinking _Merlin, you're so beautiful. I don't ever want to take my glasses off again._  
Draco smiles a bit, but he's worried and mostly afraid. “He's-” his voice cracks. “He's going to know. That we kissed, I mean. We...we surely smell like each other a lot right now, and he will know.”  
He lowers his gaze, his eyes blank and empty. “Oh Merlin. He's going to disown me. He's-”  
“Let him try” Harry cuts him off, taking his hand in his. “I'm right here with you, Draco.”  
He strokes his hand with his thumb, trying to soothe him. It works a bit.  
“Ready?” he asks. Draco nods.  
“Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this just ♥ leave kudos and comments! And have a Merry Drarry Christmas ♥


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back~  
> I know it's been A LOT of time, but I just couldn't update sooner. Anyway here's the new chapter!  
> Many thanks to my amazing beta, Apieceofpaper. Enjoy!

Draco stops before they open the door to the hallway.  
“Potter” he whispers, then corrects himself, “ _Harry_. Be civil. Don't get into an argument with my father.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “I won't. I just- want to be there, all right?”  
Draco can barely keep a nervous, yet sincere grin from spreading on his lips. “Okay” he nods, and lets go of his hand. Harry doesn't question his action; he knows what Lucius would think, seeing them holding hands.  
Draco opens the door.

“Father” he calls, finding a new courage in himself he didn't know he had. Lucius turns towards them, and raises a pale eyebrow as he grimaces.  
He knows that they've been _too_ close to each other. He can smell it, see it.  
He looks at Harry with his chin raised with arrogance and superiority. Harry isn't scared by him; he's never been, and never will be.  
Lucius stays silent, and Harry can feel Draco growing nervous. He almost opens his mouth when Draco looks at him threateningly; of course, he's heard his thoughts. He doesn't want Harry to say anything.  
Lucius watches them as they exchange looks, and snorts. “Already reading his mind” he comments, not without contempt. “If I didn't think better, I'd say it was to do with your ability.”  
Draco doesn't hesitate; he holds his father's gaze as he answers. “I've been taught to do so, haven't I?”  
Harry frowns. What is he talking about?

Draco isn't listening to his thoughts right now, and Harry lets himself wonder. Isn't it supposed to be part of the bond?  
Lucius chuckles, but he's not amused. “From the way you're talking, I guess Potter can't hear your thoughts as well.”  
“He can't” Draco immediately confirms. And Harry finds himself frowning again.  
 _Is he hiding something from me?_  
But Draco, once again, isn't listening to his mind. It means it must take some focusing, some concentrating, for him to be able to read his thoughts.  
Is that the way the bond is supposed to work?  
Harry is suddenly _so_ confused.  
He instinctively moves forward to ask a thousand questions to Draco, but then he stops himself from doing something so silly. This isn't about him, not right now.  
Draco and his father have said something more, but Harry is focusing on their words again only now. “I haven't come here to listen to your ramblings, Draco” says Lucius, cutting Draco off, “I only wanted to tell you that your mother knows. She's on her way to Hogwarts as we speak, and she'll be there any moment.”  
Draco eyes him cautiously. “Why have you anticipated her, Father?” he asks. “Is she mad at me.”  
Lucius's expression changes. He looks physically annoyed. “Quite the contrary” he replies hastily.  
Draco widens his eyes and opens his mouth to ask, but that's exactly when Narcissa walks into the hallway and greets them.  
Harry feels Draco's heart swell in his chest, and a quiet sense of calm wash over him. He'd never realized how close Draco was to his mother; it's so weird, to feel him reacting that way.  
But Draco only greets her back, without showing even a hint of the relief and happiness he's actually feelings. And that is so... _sad_ , to constantly have to hide such feelings, isn't it?  
“Oh! Potter” Narcissa greets him, as she sees him. She steps closer to him and, much to Harry's surprise, moves to kiss his cheek politely.  
Harry wasn't raised like that, but he knows what that means. In a way, she's already accepted him as a member of her family.  
“I thought we could have a little chat” she adds, a polite smile on her lips as she pulls away and look at him. Harry blinks, confused, and then nods cautiously.  
“We want to know your intentions, Potter” Lucius says, finally speaking to him. Harry raises one eyebrow.  
“My intentions?” he repeats, confused.  
“He knows nothing of this” Lucius says behind gritted teeth, looking at his wife like Harry isn't right there, completely able to hear him. Narcissa gives her husband a threatening look, not different from the one Draco gave Harry just a few minutes before, and Lucius huffs as quietly as possible.  
“When you will marry, and what you will let Draco able to do” she clarifies. “We don't ask for that much, Harry, so please, consider our requests. We would want Draco to visit us once or twice a month, and...we really wish you would include him in the management of his heritage, once we die.”  
That's exactly when it hits Harry.  
Everything is so clear now- the reason why Lucius hasn't come to Hogwarts alone, the reason why Narcissa's tone of voice is so calm and firm but her eyes are quietly begging.  
They're afraid to lose their only son. They're afraid that everything they've done and lived for- their mansion, their power, their efforts- won't be taken care of.  
This is what being the omega to an alpha really is. The loss of power, of the freedom to take decisions on their own, and that's just...unacceptable. Harry feels something like nausea when he realizes it.  
“Draco can do whatever he wants to” he immediately answers. He sees both Lucius and Narcissa's eyes widen, and can even feel Draco being caught completely off-guard. “I don't- I don't-”  
It's so difficult to even think about it, let alone say it aloud. Harry regains his breath and courage before he speaks again. “I don't _own_ him, Mrs. Malfoy. He's free to do whatever he pleases, yeah?”

“Harry” comes the broken whisper of Draco's voice. “Are you-”  
“Are you aware of what you're saying, Potter?” Lucius cuts him off. His eyes are narrowed- he probably expects Harry to be joking.  
“I am” Harry confirms, clearly annoyed by his lake of trust.  
Narcissa moves a few steps closer, and takes his hands in hers. It's rather embarrassing, and Harry feels awkward, but Narcissa just holds his hands and nods at him.  
“Thank you, Harry.”  
Harry just swallows. “I know you're all about traditions, but-”  
“We will come back with paper and lawyers” Lucius cuts him off, “you'll be required to sign a contract. An unbreakable one. Take responsibility in your choices, Potter.”  
“I will” Harry nods, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying something unpolite and unpleasant. Merlin, Lucius is just unbearable.  
Narcissa lets go of his hands, and instead moves to hug Draco. “See you in a few days, my dragon” she says affectionately, before she leaves with her husband.  
When Harry looks away from them to look at Draco instead, he feels his gaze already fastened on him. But Draco doesn't say a word; he just quietly watches him, and feels a thousand things at once.  
Harry's gotten better to feel them, and there's just one feeling stronger than the others.  
Uncertainty.  
“What?” he asks. “Why would you feel uncertain?”  
Draco opens his mouth to speak, but then closes it again. Harry widens his eyes.  
“Oh” he mutters. “You don't trust me?”  
It doesn't sound like a question; Harry already knows. He sighs.  
“Draco” he calls, “I have no intention of keeping you from making your own decisions. Heck, all of this is just ridiculous. I'm sure that pureblood families can't live without silly traditions and what not, but that's not how _I_ want to live. I'm better than all of that.”

He bites his tongue as soon as those last words get out of his mouth; he must have crossed some line there, and he really doesn't want a mad Draco to fight.  
But Draco doesn't react. “You don't- you don't understand, Harry. You can't just say such things, and make fun of my parents in that way. You can't just...elude them. You'll break my mother's heart.”  
“Why would I be joking?” Harry asks, and he's getting angry. “Why is it so difficult to treat Omegas as human beings?!”  
Draco furrows his eyebrows, and blushes with anger and humiliation. “Because pureblood Omegas aren't just people. They are _different_ people, they're rare, they're- they're something an Alpha must keep an eye on.”

“Why?” Harry asks, sounding exasperated. “Why would I _keep an eye on you_?”  
“Because I could dishonor your family, I could not take a good care of your heritage, I could- I could cheat on you! And that would shame you!”  
“Oh, Merlin” Harry moans dramatically. “I don't _care_ about these things, Draco! I don't even _know_ what do to with your heritage, I don't belong to a pureblood family, and I'd only feel ashamed if I were to do such a thing to you. Why would you- _dishonor_ me? I just- I just don't care. Sure, I _would_ care if you'd cheat on me, but- I hope you won't. I'm _not_ going to hide you from the world and order you to stay at home for the rest of your life. Such a thought is- is so selfish and disgusting, honestly. I could never live with myself.”

“Please don't play with my feelings in this way” Draco says in a whisper, so fast that Harry barely hears him. “Right now, you- you hold my life in your hands, Harry. You could kill me and no one could stop you from doing so. You could say it was my fault and no one would even question your words. Don't give me hope about something you're not going to give me. Please.”

Harry almost screams in exasperation. “But I _will_!” he replies, tugging at his wrist to stop him from moving away from him. Withouth noticing, Draco is moving away from him at every word he says. “I'm deadly serious. Please _do_ believe my words. I'm not going to let you down. I know we've hated each other- I know we _still_ do, but I would never kill someone for no reason. Even if that someone was you. I mean, I haven't killed you in all these years, why would I kill you now that you're my mate?”  
It was meant to be a joke, and Draco must understand it, because he chuckles quietly. It's a nervous, hesitant chuckle, but it's enough. Harry will get him to trust him, eventually.

“What will it take for you to trust me?” he asks, following his line of thoughts. Draco eyes him for a few seconds, considering his answer, before he speaks.  
“I want to see your signature on the papers” he admits quietly. “I want contracts to be signed by you.”  
Harry sighs, but nods. He was expecting that.  
“I have only one question” he says then, and Draco stiffens. Harry would like to rub the tension off his shoulders, but he won't; he needs an answer first. “What were you and your father talking about? What have you been taught to do?”  
Horror. What Draco feels in answer to his question is _horror_.

“Draco?” Harry calls him, confused by his reaction. “Please, tell me.”  
“I- I can't” Draco says hastily. “Don't- don't ask me to explain you. I was just lying when I said that, I only wanted my father not to think that me and you were already so connected to each other.”  
He breathes, and he's clearly scared of what Harry is going to answer. “I can only tell you that, yes, I can only read your thoughts when I focus. But that's normal, that's how the bond is supposed to work, it's because you could ask me to leave your mind alone and I could just stop. I'm sorry I haven't told you before, I just...I just really enjoy doing it” he admits, and slightly blushes. It's cute. “But...don't ask me to explain you what my father and I were referring to. It's not important anymore, and it's not something we should talk of. It's in the past. I don't want to ever think about it again.”

Harry falls quiet, and just stares at him. Draco doesn't falter, he endures the intensity of Harry's gaze; he knows Harry's looking for some track of lying in his eyes, and he doesn't look away.  
“Okay” Harry just nods, and Draco can't help but sigh in relief. “It isn't something I should worry about, then?”  
“It's not” Draco assures him. Harry nods again.  
“But” Draco adds, voice quiet and hesitant, almost scared, “you could- order me to tell you. If you really want to know, there's nothing I can do when-”  
“The only thing I really want right now” Harry sighs, “is to kiss you and get you to finally shut up. I've already told you how much I hate this thing you're talking about, haven't I?”  
Draco chuckles, and he's finally calm again. “You have.”  
“Then let's go back to cuddling” Harry pouts like a child, and presses a new kiss to Draco's mouth.

*

“That Potter is even more stupid that I thought him to be” Lucius says, as soon as he and Narcissa get back to their mansion.  
Narcissa frowns. “What are you talking about?” she asks, as she calls a house-elf.  
“He could take advantage of the situation, steal Draco's heritage and take control of everything that's ours” Lucius grimaces, “but he will not. On the contrary, we _are_ going to take advantage of the situation, and we are going to get out of this.”  
Narcissa just raises one eyebrow at him. Lucius grins.  
“You'll see, my dear” he says, narrowing his eyes. “You'll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and comments if you liked this~ also come say hi on my [tumblr](http://99millionmilesaway.tumblr.com/)!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco keeps his promise, and lots of other things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I know, I know- I haven't been updating in forever, basically. I've been terribly busy with university and lots (and I mean, LOTS) of exams and I still will be until the end of February, but at least I finally managed to write a new chapter.  
> This one is one of the longer chapters I've EVER written (even in my first language!) and I hope you appreciate it! I really wanted to give you something long and interesting after a lot of time rather than something short and meaningless just to update every few days.  
> This chapter was beta'd (in record time tbh) by the amazing Apieceofpaper! She's got some super power, really. Idek how she does it.  
> Enjoy!

Draco has always been fond of his mother's letters.  
When he was a child, he always took comfort in reading them; his Mother always made him smile- and also, she always sent him biscuits or other sweets that the other children would envy him for.  
But...this letter, this _particular_ letter, it is...very strange. There's something that Draco can't see, yet can sense: what's the matter?

_Dear Draco,  
I have been considering whether or not to write this letter, and I've just decided now to send it.  
As you know, your father and I are very worried about your future.  
Granted, it would be great to see you before the papers are ready to sign, but we both know that asking your mate about it would only make him suspicious.  
Omegas have to be quiet and intelligent, you see; alphas are easily distracted.  
Now, anyway, is not the right time to think about it, is it?  
And furthermore, there's no need to worry about such matters.  
Let me know if you're feeling well- I hope you're not troubled.  
Letters are so interesting, aren't they? I can say so much in just a few lines.  
Enough of my words. Pay attention, my dear dragon: we will meet you soon.  
Your Mother._

 

The words don't really sound familiar. There's something weird; Draco feels like he's supposed to understand something that he just can't grasp.  
He stares at the letter until late that night, when Harry is sleeping and moving in his own bed like crazy; he must be having nightmares as usual, and Draco quietly pities him. He can't imagine how that would be, to never be able to fall completely asleep.  
His eyes move back and forth, first towards Harry and then back to the letter in his hands, and his eyebrows furrow in concentration. Perhaps his mother used some sort of a code to tell him something? Maybe he has to read just the first word out of three. Well, nope- that doesn't make any sense.  
He sighs, frustrated, and in that exact moment Harry wakes up all of a sudden; Draco immediately hides the letter under his pillow- he feels like Harry really shouldn't see it.  
Draco stares at him as he regains his breath, panting like he's just run a marathon and with his eyes fastened on him, but completely unfocused. Harry isn't actually _looking_ at him; he's still staring at the remnants of whatever monster is hunting his dreams.  
Harry blinks a few times, and the look in his eyes is horrified and distraught. Draco clears his throat; “Harry” he says, calmly but determined, “snap out of it.”  
And Harry does. His eyes finally focus on him and him alone, and his chest rises and falls a little slower.  
“Merlin” Harry groans, putting his head in his hands. “That was terrible.”  
He just breathes for a few seconds, and then his hands move slowly away from his face. He raises one questioning eyebrow at his mate. “Why are you still awake?”  
Draco widens his eyes; luckily, Harry can't see him doing so without his glasses. “I, huh” he stumbles, “I was reading. No, I mean, I was reading my notes _in my mind_ , that's why I don't have books here. Just, er- revising for classes.”  
Harry blinks again, sleep still affecting his understanding. “But it's Saturday” he replies.  
Draco just huffs. “Come back to sleep, Potter, or I'll make you study just as hard as I do.”  
Harry laughs weakly. “Still better than trying to fall asleep again” he sighs.  
It's not- it's not really a _thought_ , it's so fast that Draco almost doesn't catch it, but he can definitely feel something in Harry's mind. He opens his mouth to clear his throat again, but he speaks before he can even do so.  
“I want to keep my promise” he says, almost out of his own will.  
Harry looks at him, confused, and Draco continues. “I will stay up all night with you” he shrugs, trying to make it sound like it's nothing even though he's blushing red, “or at least until we're both so tired that we can't keep our eyes open. That would work, wouldn't it? I can't dream of anything when I'm very, very sleepy.”  
Harry unsuccessfully tries to hide his smile; he just _loves_ to feel Draco's embarrassment, to see how he just can't keep his real emotions from Harry.  
He smiles. “Yeah” he agrees, “it would.”

Draco just hums, nodding quickly as he still blushes red. Harry bites back another chuckle and takes his glasses from the nightstand, puts them on and gets out of bed.  
Draco follows after a moment of hesitation- should he take the letter with him? He decides to let it stay under his pillow, and gets up as well.  
“We could go to the Forbidden Forest” Harry says playfully, “for memories, yeah?”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “Such a great idea” he snorts.  
Harry shrugs. “Still better than sleeping” he comments. “What about the Common Room?”  
“What?” Draco snaps in disgust. “I don't want to spend _any_ time there, Potter.”  
“I meant” Harry clears his throat, “ _Slytherin_ Common Room.”  
Draco goes very silent, after that. He just stares at Harry, and Harry doesn't really know why.  
Draco's eyes are gray and suspicious, one of his pale eyebrows raised in a silent question. Harry holds his gaze, confused. “What?”  
“Why would you want to go to the Slytherin Common Room?” Draco asks. “You know Gryffindors can't step foot in the Slytherin Dungeon.”  
“Technically” Harry replies, “you couldn't sleep here either.”  
Draco wrinkles his nose in irritation. “I know. I hate the colors here- red and yellow? Such a poor choice- but anyway, I'm your mate _and_ Omega, and it can't be helped.”  
“Doesn't that make me able to do the same as well?” Harry asks casually. “Me being your Alpha, I mean. It would only be fair.”  
Draco huffs a dry, humorless laugh. “Don't try to see _anything_ as fair here, Potter. These dynamics are just crazy, so full of rules-”  
“I hate rules” Harry groans, and then flashes Draco a mischievous grin. “Come on, come on. You know the word, right?”  
He grips Draco's wrist even before he answers, dragging him out of the room. “Slytherins change their password every-”  
“Don't you even _try_ to lie to me” Harry chuckles, “I know you're just dying to step into your Dungeon again.”  
Draco shakes his head, but lets himself be dragged through the corridors anyway. “Potter- you're a Gryffindor! You're not _supposed_ to- what if someone sees you?”  
Much to Draco's disbelief, Harry _actually_ stops at that. “Right” he nods, “just wait here for a second.”  
Draco furrows, watching his mate as he turns around and walks quickly away. “Why-” he tries to ask, but Harry has already disappeared in the dark.  
Draco just huffs and whispers a quiet _Lumos_. He looks out of the window as he waits; he can't see the sea from there.  
Well, Harry's actually right. He _does_ miss his Dungeon- he misses being an actual Slytherin like crazy.  
He just tries not to think about it- he knows it's pointless. It can't be helped.  
He sighs quietly, his eyebrows furrowing in sadness as he still waits for Harry. He turns around and leans back against the window, his shoulders meeting the cold glass.  
He almost jumps in fear as _something_ bumps playfully into him- he opens his mouth to scream when a hand comes out of nowhere and presses itself onto Draco's mouth.  
Another arm appears in the darkness, moves like it's lowering a hoodie or something, and Harry's face appears as well. He's grinning amusedly.  
“You fucker” Draco hisses against the palm of his hand, “you scared the hell out of-”

Before he can say anything else, Draco sees Harry move and feels something being wrapped around him, falling onto his shoulders and down his back. Also, the rest of the room around them is now completely dark, even if his wand is still radiating a white light.  
It feels like...  
“A cloak?” Draco asks, surprised. “Are we-”  
“An _Invisibility_ Cloak” Harry grins smugly. “You were worried about the Slytherins seeing me, so...”  
Draco's eyes widen, his mouth opens in wonder. He looks truly fascinated as he closes his hand around the invisible fabric of the cloak- surprise is a great look on him, and Harry can't help but blink at his beauty.  
Draco rolls his eyes. “You just can't keep yourself from thinking those sappy things, can you?”  
Harry just pushes him out of the Invisibility Cloak. “Lead the way” he huffs.  
Draco glares at him, somehow managing to look straight into his eyes even as he's invisible. He starts walking out of the Dungeon, and Harry follows.  
Draco feels his heart flutter in his chest as he says the password and finally steps into the Slytherin Dungeon. He feels at home again- all his privileges are back; he's the Slytherin Prince again, he can still step in and out of the Dungeon whenever he wants, and the color are still as bright and elegant as Draco remembered them to be.  
He walks into the Common Room with a tiny smile on his lips- all of that is so familiar, yet so far away, even as he's right there. He sits on the couch, and can see every picture on the wall even through the darkness. 

When the light sparkling from his wand reveals Harry's face, Draco almost jumps again. Harry chuckles quietly.  
“Already forgetting about my presence, Malfoy?” Harry asks teasingly. “What a way to treat a guest.”  
Draco furrows, ready to snap, but then shakes his head and smiles weakly. “It's not like this is my home anymore, is it? You're not my guest.”  
But his Slytherin pride just begs to differ; “and actually” Draco says, shoving him away as Harry moves to sit closer to him, “you're not meant to be a guest here anyway.”  
Harry rolls his eyes, and looks at Draco as he stands up and walks to the window. “Look at the sea” he mumbles, pressing the palm of his hand against the glass. “Listen to its sound.”  
Harry doesn't stand up, doesn't follow him to the window. It feels strangely intimate- he doesn't want to interrupt.  
Instead, he closes his eyes and just lets his ears do all the work. The sea rumbles gently, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks calm and soothing.  
He bets it looks stunning, too. But Draco looks even better- Harry can see his pale hand against the glass, his silver hair shining lightly with the moonlight. Draco is wearing green pajamas; has he ever stopped considering himself a Slytherin?  
“Why would I?” Draco asks quietly. Right- sometimes Harry forgets he can hear his thoughts. “That's what I am. What I've been my whole life, to be honest.”  
Harry feels like a stranger, being in this place all of a sudden; he doesn't belong here.  
He just sits silently, hands on his knees and legs closed, trying to make himself as small as he can on the foreign couch, in the foreign common room. Why does it feel like a different world?  
Draco shrugs, but doesn't turn around. Harry can only watch his shoulders move. “Because it is” he answers. “Gryffindors, Slytherins...couldn't be more different. We're like two sides of the same coin, aren't we?”  
Harry doesn't even bother to talk when he replies; he just thinks.  
_Why are we mates, then? Isn't that weird?_  
Draco chuckles quietly; it doesn't sound genuine. “It is” he agrees. “I've thought -for _all my life_ \- that I'd be an Alpha, and that my mate would be an Omega Slytherin.”  
He finally turns around; Harry wasn't expecting the sad, yet playful smile on his lips. “Instead...” he says teasingly, trailing off.  
“Instead you're an Omega, your mate is a _Gryffindor_ Alpha, and things couldn't be more absurd” Harry provides, standing up to get closer to him. His tone is light, he wants that sad expression to disappear from Draco's face and never come back. “You've got me of all people- honestly, it could have been worse.”  
Draco plays along, raises both of his eyebrows in wonder. “Like who, exactly?”  
“Could have been one of those idiots you used to have around all the time” Harry says, “Crabbe and Goyle?”  
He laughs at Draco's disgusted face- but Draco is quick to fight back. “Still Slytherins, though.”  
Harry tries to think of someone else. Who would Draco really hate to be with?  
A grin spreads on his lips. “Could have been Ron” he says.  
Any color completely washes off Draco's face- he goes utterly pale; his eyes widen so much they look like they're ready to fall out of their sockets.  
“Alright” he mutters, his voice almost cracking as he speaks, “you won.”  
“ _You_ won” Harry replies, amused, “you won the fucking _Chosen One_. How does it feel?”

Draco doesn't answer to the question; instead, his usual sneer takes place on his face- but his eyes are smiling, and Harry can feel he's just as amused as he is, playing along.  
“The Chosen One and the Slytherin Heir” he comments, his voice sarcastic as he names Harry, “who would have seen it coming, really.”  
There must be something weird, in the air of the Slytherin Dungeon- some drug hovering in the atmosphere, something that makes people act like they're better than anyone, braver than anyone. There isn't any other explanation to Harry's motion that exact moment- he extends his arms, grabs Draco by his stupidly green pajamas, and kisses him senseless.  
Right there, in the fucking _Slytherin Dungeon_ \- and not even hiding under the Invisibility Cloak; Harry's fist closes around his shirt, then gives it a light tug to get Draco to move closer- and Draco does; he whimpers lightly against his lips and wraps his own arms around Harry's neck, stepping closer to him to the point their chests are almost touching.  
The sea is still rumbling right outside of the window, and Harry idiotically feels like it's watching them, forcing them to be together like they wouldn't usually have the courage to. “Stupid thought” Draco agrees, but doesn't stop kissing him anyway.  
If anything, actually, Draco _melts_ into the kiss- Harry's palm presses lightly against his back, his hands and fingers already so familiar Draco can almost feel their warmth even through the fabric of his pajamas. He moves his hands as well, up to Harry's hair, playing with the dark locks there- he tugs lightly, almost imperceptibly, and Harry groans quietly into his mouth.  
Harry realizes they don't ever kiss; and if they ever do, then not nearly as much as Harry would want them to, and how bad is that? Draco's just so _kissable_ \- his lips so plump and soft, already red and swollen against his.  
Harry just loves the way Draco lets his tongue slide against his, the way his lips part to let him in, the way his mouth tastes. He loves how Draco's cheeks are painted red when Harry pulls back, how Draco instinctively leans closer to him to get his lips back- and then realizes it, pulling back just as well and blushing even further, his beautiful gray eyes lowering their gaze as he bites down at his own lips, looking all flushed and embarrassed.  
And, _honestly_ \- Harry is only human, how could anyone stand such a sight and not do anything? He wraps his arms around Draco's waist, pulling him closer to him again, and gently nibbles at his lower lip.  
“You're so fucking _cute_ when you're uneasy” he whispers.  
“I'm not _cute_ ” Draco hisses, trying to shove him away. Harry chuckles and only kisses him further, holding him tight in his arms.  
Draco has such a nice smell- why hasn't he really noticed that before? It's not too delicate, too omegic, but it's fruity and very, very pleasant. Harry finds himself moving out of his own control, his lips kissing their way down Draco's chin and his nose pushing gently at the back of his jaw; Draco takes the hint and lifts his chin up, and Harry sighs against his skin and places a single, warm kiss to his throat.

It's too much and not nearly enough- Draco's trembling in Harry's arms, his body already so pliant in his hold, his heart hammering like crazy-  
Draco presses a hand against Harry chest, and his touch is light but determined. He doesn't actually shove Harry away, but Harry can understand that he's not comfortable and wants him to stop.  
Harry moves away, even if his hands are hitching to touch and his lips desperate to kiss. He tries to focus and read Draco's emotions. “You're aroused” he says, matter-of-factly, “ _and_ scared?”  
He frowns. “Why would you be-”  
“Papers” Draco says hastily, blinking himself out of his trance, “I can't- you can't send me into heat before you sign the papers.”  
Harry groans. “You _know_ I'll sign them-” he says, stopping mid-sentence.  
The thought of Draco being in heat suddenly hits him- Draco will be flushed from head to toe, desperate for Harry's touch, and will completely abandon himself to Harry's care.  
Merlin, it will be stunning.  
He can already picture Draco like that; writhing underneath him as he strokes his skin, lips parting as soft moans escape his mouth, gorgeous body arching as pleasure suddenly overwhelms him.  
“Potter” Draco breathes, disbelieving, “you can't just- that is so- control yourself!” he scolds, blushing furiously.  
Harry rolls his eyes. “Why can't you just _stop_ reading my thoughts, if they bother you that much?” he teases, trying to press another kiss to his pale neck.  
But Draco shoves him lightly away before he can even step closer to him; Harry can feel his inner struggle, the desire he feels towards his Alpha and, at the same time, the crushing weight of responsibility.  
“I'm not trying to trick you” Harry sighs. “Won't you just trust me?”  
Draco's been taught to never, _ever_ trust people. His mother used to tell him to-  
_Oh._  
He suddenly understands; surprise completely hits him, and Draco's eyes widen as he realizes why his mother's letter sounded so weird.  
_Diagon Alley_. The words were perfectly disposed; every initial was displayed at the beginning of each sentence, waiting for Draco to get the hint.  
“Let's go to Diagon Alley” Draco says, and Harry raises a confused eyebrow at him. “I want to go to Diagon Alley” Draco repeats quickly, his own eyebrows furrowing in determination. “Tomorrow.”  
Harry will get suspicious if he doesn't explain, Draco knows that- “I want...I want to spend some time with you” he says, the truth behind his words making him blush.  
Harry's lips break into a smile. “Like a date?” he asks teasingly.  
Draco rolls his eyes. “If you would” he huffs.  
Harry chuckles. “Yeah” he nods, “let's go.”  
Draco looks up at him, surprised. He didn't expect Harry to agree that easily- no questions, no suspicion?  
“I'll do everything it takes to make you have some little faith in me” Harry rolls his eyes, feeling his astonishment. “I, _unlike you_ , do trust my mate.”  
He grins. “And besides that, I'd really like to go out on a _date_ with you, since you asked so nicely.”  
Draco snaps. “Stop saying that-”  
Harry shuts him up with a kiss.

*

The sky is dark, and the air is strangely warm. Many stars shine bright in the distance- Draco points to the sparkling darkness right above them and tells Harry about the constellations.  
“Andromeda” he says quietly, Harry's eyes following the directions of his finger, “Bellatrix. Some of my relatives' names are taken from the sky, just like mine. Lucius is not a constellation, but it means 'light' in Latin.”  
Draco chuckles, Harry raises one eyebrow at him. “Up there you can see the Scorpio constellation” he says, “me and Astoria used to fight a lot about that.”  
Harry frowns. “Astoria?”  
“Astoria Greengrass” Draco explains. “She presented as Omega at birth. My parents thought she'd be the perfect match for me, and our families made us spend a lot of time together during the summer when we were kids. She said she wanted to name our firstborn Thomas.”  
He wrinkles his nose in pure disgust. “ _Thomas_!” he repeats. “So horribly common. Me and my mother wanted to name him Scorpius, after that constellation. Much more remarkable.”  
Harry laughs, but he can't stop furrowing his eyebrows. “Didn't they know-”  
“Of course they did” Draco nods, reading his mind. “But that didn't really matter. We were all expecting her to be my mate, you see, no one thought it could be different. My parents just thought we had to wait for me to present, and then things would magically click and me and Astoria would madly fall in love...or something like that.”

The way Draco says that makes Harry laugh. “You didn't like her at all, did you?”  
“Merlin” Draco sighs, “maybe as a friend. I mean, I have lots of great memories with her, but...”  
He just trails off as soon as he reads Harry's thoughts, and grins amusedly. “Jealous, Potter?”  
“Don't flatter yourself” Harry rolls his eyes, and then looks up at the sky again. “Where's Draco?”  
Draco mercifully decides to let Harry change the topic, and shows him the constellation. “Right there” he says. “Of _course_ it looks like a dragon” he snaps, reading Harry's mind, “just use your imagination, won't you?”  
Draco just listens to Harry's chuckle, and then continues. “You can see Sirius' constellation up there as well” he murmurs, and Harry's laughter stops.  
“The brightest star, you know. Or the dog one” Draco tells. “Woah” he adds, Harry's thoughts making him widen his eyes, “I see. Very appropriate, then.”  
He clears his throat. “I didn't really know him, you see. Our families didn't get along very well- Gryffindors and Slytherins, of course.”  
Harry snorts. “Of _course_ ” he mocks him, shoving him lightly on a shoulder. “What does Draco mean?” he asks. “I've heard it means 'cruel' or something like that.”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “It just means 'serpent'” he huffs. “My parents already knew I was going to be a Slytherin.”  
“It's sad” Harry says before he can stop himself, “that your parents had already decided for everything in your place.”  
Draco frowns. “Why do you say so?” he asks, genuinely confused. “It was only to be expected. Also, as a Pure-blood, I have responsibilities. I can't just do whatever I want.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “Yeah? It seemed to me that you always did whatever you pleased at school.”  
“That, coming from Harry bloody Potter's mouth” Draco teases back, and then continues. “And besides, they know best. There are things I've just got to do.”  
“But if everything has already been planned in advance” Harry says, “isn't it boring?”  
Draco scowls- he opens his mouth to answer, but no sound comes out. He's never thought about it.  
“I- well. _You_ weren't planned.”  
Harry doesn't say anything; when Draco reads his mind, all he can sense is deep affection. Harry's just staring at his eyes, and Draco is more than just embarrassed to know they shine a bright silver and look big and sincere.  
“I'm such a plot twist in your life, Malfoy” Harry laughs, completely ruining the atmosphere.  
“Won't you _shut up_!” Draco snaps, nearly drawing his wand.  
But Harry looks stunning in the early minutes of dawn, and Draco easily forgets.

* 

Diagon Alley is still one of Harry's favorite places.  
It just can't help but bring happy memories to his mind; the beginning of a new, unexpected life, the sound of Hagrid's heavy steps, the shiny and vivid colors all around them as he first found himself belonging to that incredible world.  
He used to imagine that his mother had felt the same, the first time she stepped foot in Diagon Alley just like he did. He used to feel like a Muggle-born himself; to wonder if she had felt any different from him.  
This time, however, all Harry can think of is Draco Malfoy, walking beside him out of Hogwarts for the first time, looking at every building in sight and most likely lost in his own mind. Harry doesn't bother to read his emotions- Draco looks relaxed, if not just a bit excited and maybe a little uneasy; but that's normal, Harry guesses. The Slytherin Heir and The Chosen One have never been very likely to take a walk together in Diagon Alley, after all.

Harry's eyes widen and a big smile spreads on his lips as he sees his favorite shop. Draco rolls his eyes and speaks even before Harry tells him.  
“I'll go to Madam Malkin's” he anticipates him, “and yes, we'll meet just as we're both finished.”  
Harry doesn't really want to spend any time away from his mate. Draco sighs.  
“It's just for a little time, isn't it?” he huffs. “See you later.”  
Harry rolls his eyes at Draco's words, but can't hide his happiness to step foot in Quality Quidditch Supplies again. As soon as he disappears inside the shop, Draco is quick to turn around and hurry to find his parents.  
They must be here- if not the both of them, at least his father or his mother alone. There's no way Draco has understood the letter wrong, this must be the place, and he knows that any moment now-  
He turns around a corner, heading to the darkest part of Diagon Alley, when he spots his father's long platinum hair at the end of a street.  
He hesitates. Does he really want to know?  
His father has always hated Harry Potter- there's no way he isn't going to try and take Draco away from his mate. He's probably going to tell Draco about a plan to get rid of him.  
Draco gulps quietly. He's just about to turn around, torn between his instincts and his responsibilities, when his father finally sees him.  
“Draco!” he calls, barely audible. Draco knows he can't pretend not to hear him. “Here.”  
Draco slowly steps closer, hiding in the shadows beside his father. Lucius checks the area, his eyes moving quickly right to left and spacing around.  
“He's not here, is he?” he asks.  
“Of course he's not” Draco says, failing to suppress the irritated tone of his voice. “What did you want to tell me?”  
Lucius nods, his eyes finally fixating on his son. “I know just what we should do” he says, “but I can't tell you all of that now. Potter must trust you blindly- you've got to do everything that is necessary, Draco- just be careful not to let him mark you.”  
Draco feels his mouth going dry, his vision blurring. “He already trusts me” he says, and hates how weak that sounds.  
His father grips both of his shoulders, most likely not paying any attention to his words. “This” he mutters, tone serious, “this is very important. If only we could hand Potter to the Dark Lord- you understand what that would mean for our family, don't you?”  
Draco nods slowly. Lucius looks at him in the eye. “Meet us in a few days. I'll tell Snape that you need a special authorization to Floo home- he'll find a way. Your mother doesn't agree with me, but I'm sure she will eventually. And you will as well.”  
Draco _hates_ how Lucius says that- like his opinion is supposed to be that and that alone, and it can't differ from his father's.  
“Why doesn't Mother approve?” he asks. Lucius shakes his head.  
“She doesn't understand how much more important this is” he mutters.  
“More important than what?” Draco prompts him.  
“Than you living with your mate” Lucius says quickly, “you know this isn't right, Draco- Potter being your mate. That's just absurd. Pure-blood Slytherins _don't_ have half-blood Gryffindors as mates.”  
“But-” Draco tries to say, “Aunt Andromeda is married to a muggle-born, and uncle Sirius was a Gryffindor-”  
Lucius stares at him, completely speechless, until he almost shakes him. “Draco!” he calls, looking horrified, “your aunt Andromeda isn't part of the family anymore, and your aunt Bellatrix _killed_ your uncle Sirius- do you want to end up in the same way? As a _traitor_?”  
Draco feels like he can't breathe. “I won't let you die, Draco” Lucius adds, eyebrows furrowed in fear and determination, “we'll do all it takes.”  
Lucius releases the hold on his shoulder, eyeing him one last time. “I must go” he says hastily, “Potter will get suspicious soon. Remember- these days. Don't let Potter come to the Mansion with you.”  
Draco barely has the time to nod before his father disappears in the dark. “Goodbye, son.”  
He can't move, he can't blink, he can barely stand.  
“Goodbye” Draco breathes to the darkness, “Father.”

 

*

As he and Harry come back home, Draco is utterly silent.  
Harry notices - _of course_ he does-, but Draco just dismisses his own feelings, telling Harry he just didn't find the robes he wanted. Harry totally buys it; Draco almost wrinkles his nose at his lack of suspicion, but then again- Alpha _and_ Gryffindor.  
It almost physically hurts Draco, to see how much his mate trusts him. A part of him knows that's just due to his Alpha instincts; an Alpha would never, ever doubt their Omega. And(,) why would they? Omegas are known for their loyalty and blind adoration towards their Alpha, after all. An Omega should be _heartless_ to hurt their Alpha.  
Draco knows that, and he's never felt any more torn in his life.  
Part of him wants to get away from Harry as soon as possible, save him from the horrible things he'll have to do against him if Harry actually keep trusting him blindly; but he knows he can't do that. His inner Omega is just desperate to be with him, and will physically suffer if he's away from him for too long.  
He doesn't want to do as his father has told him -gain Harry's complete trust in any way- but at the same time, he can't help but do just that, even if he acts normally or out of his own control. He desperately wants to protect him- and his inner Omega acts in the only way nature will permit them to.  
He can't let him out of his sight. He spends every second left of the day beside him, making sure to cover Harry with his own scent even late at night.  
Harry smiles as Draco rubs his head against his chest, nuzzles into his neck and under his chin, presses his forehead against his shoulders and touches every single inch of his thorax and stomach.  
“Hey” Harry calls, chuckling. “What are you doing? I've seen _cats_ do that. Should I expect you to start purring as well?”  
Draco huffs against the skin of his neck, and Harry barely suppresses a shiver. “Shut up.”  
“I thought you'd be more of a snake” Harry teases him, finally wrapping his arms around his waist as Draco moves closer. “We could have interesting conversations in Parseltongue, you know.”  
Draco rolls his eyes and sighs. “You say _one_ more stupid thing like that” he threatens, “and I'm-”  
“You what?” Harry asks playfully, raising one teasing eyebrow at him. “You'll hand me to Voldemort?”  
Draco blinks and reminds himself not to show any of his feelings. He pushes Harry off the bed.  
“Idiot” he mutters, even as Harry's laughing and climbing back on the bed.  
He can't help but frown. “You shouldn't joke about that” he says quietly. Could he try to warn him, make him understand what he can't tell him?  
“You know my family doesn't like you” he adds, “you know we have sided with the Dark Lord during the war. They don't trust you” he murmurs, “and you shouldn't trust them- _me_ either.”

“I hardly believe you could be that selfless, Malfoy” Harry grins, much to Draco's exasperation. “ _You_ , dooming yourself to a miserable life without your mate? I've heard that's terrible, worse than any torture. I mean” he snorts, “ _Hermione_ told me, so that must be real.”  
Draco just sighs. “Whatever” he says under his breath, the words getting stuck in his throat halfway to his mouth.  
“Come back here” Harry says with a chuckle, opening his arms wide as he settles back under the blankets. “I liked your cuddly side.”  
Draco gives him a disbelieving, horrified look. “Me?” he echoes. “A _cuddler_?”  
Harry raises an eloquent eyebrow at him, his arms still wide open. Draco just huffs, blushing slightly before he sets back in Harry's arms and shamelessly starts scenting him again.  
“Can I ask you what, exactly, are you doing?” Harry says, genuinely curious.  
Draco sighs. He knows he has to explain to Harry, since he doesn't know a bloody thing about the matter. “I'm, hum...trying to get you to smell just like me” he mutters quietly.  
Harry chuckles, interested. “You're...marking me as yours, basically?”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “Stop thinking that!” he hisses as he reads his mind, “I'm _not_ a bloody kitten. And, no, I'm not marking you as mine. This is only temporary.”  
“What does that mean?” Harry prompts him, confused.  
“It means” Draco clears his throat, “that I'd have to bite you, in order to really mark you.”  
He blushes a deep red, and Harry laughs at that. “I'd show you where, if that basically wouldn't make us both desperate to bond.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “And you want to wait for me to sign the papers before I can mark you.”  
Draco pecks him quickly on the lips. “Exactly.”  
“What even _was_ that?” Harry asks, playfully. “I knew you were bad at kissing, but I'd never thought you were _this_ bad...”  
He wraps his arms tighter against a yelling Malfoy, and momentarily forgets about the rest of the world.

*

“And now you're _sleeping together_?!”  
Harry blushes a deep red as he tries to get his best friend to lower her tone of voice. “Hermione!” he hisses- Draco's habits are already growing onto him. “I just meant- we're _literally_ sleeping together! I didn't mean-”  
Ron chuckles. “I bet Malfoy is just too disgusted to let you touch him.”  
Harry sighs- “he's not _disgusted_ , Ron” he rolls his eyes, “he wants me to sign papers first.”  
Hermione raises an eyebrow. “Papers?” she asks suspiciously. “Like, you mean a contract?”  
Harry shrugs. “I guess. His family thinks I'm going to keep him from the world forever, and I'm way better than that.”  
“So” Hermione says cautiously, “you'll agree with them?”  
“Of course” Harry snaps. “I'm not- these dynamics still sound totally stupid to me. Malfoy is free to do whatever he wants.”  
“Harry” Hermione calls him, concern visible in her eyes and clear in her voice, “be careful. I know that you're blinded by all your instincts, but please _do_ remember all the horrible things the Malfoys have tried to do to you. Remember they sided with You-Know-Who during the war. They wanted to _hand you to Him_ , Harry.”  
“Malfoy should be bloody stupid to do anything against Harry, 'Mione” Ron says. “I mean, who tries to act against their mate?”  
Hermione shakes her head. “I don't trust him” she scowls. “Besides, I can't really picture Malfoy taking care of their children, or whatever.”  
Harry's eyes literally sparkle. “Children?” he asks. “What do you even mean-”  
“You don't know a _thing_ , Harry!” Hermione snaps. “Why can't you just open a book about the matter and _read_ it? Is that so hard?”  
She sighs, but speaks before her best friend can say something silly in return. “Do you ever wonder why Omega males are so rare and prized? They used to be _sold_ to royal families in the past millennia, you see. The answer is- they can have babies, and their kids are usually stronger and more intelligent than normal ones. The same is for Alpha females who can get Omegas pregnant, of course- they're just born with magic already stuck inside of them, you could say.”  
Harry's jaw drops. “You're saying that- me and Malfoy could actually-”  
Hermione shrugs. “Not all male Omegas are able to do that” she explains, “but yeah, most likely.”  
“Merlin” Harry breathes. “I want a family. Hell, I _really_ want a family. I should make a baby just as Draco comes back.”  
Ron laughs. “Typically Alphic” he teases.  
Hermione hits him with her book- the library they're in is strangely empty, and the sound almost echoes in the silence. “Will you shut up? You haven't presented yet. Maybe you're a male Omega just as well- what if _Parkinson_ is your Alpha?”

“No way!” Ron panics. “She's crazy- I've seen her glare at _Snape_! I don't know what the hell happens to Alphas when they present, but they sure lose their heads-”  
“Yeah, Harry” Hermione cuts Ron off, “I agree. You're acting so strangely since you presented- you used to be so suspicious of Malfoy, and now you're just- how can you even trust him that much?”  
She furrows her eyebrows. “And by the way, _where_ is he? A newly-presented Omega shouldn't be too away from their Alphas. He's going to hurt.”  
Harry's eyes widen. “He is?” he asks.  
“Read a book” Hermione repeats, glaring at him. “I'll ask you again: where is he?”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “He's with his parents right now” he explains, “he had to talk to them about the contract, I guess. I think he'll come back in a hour or so.”  
“They'll take you to the Mansion as soon as they're finished” Hermione says, “be careful. I'll be concerned about you as long as you're there” she sighs.  
Her eyes widen just a second later. “Actually” she says, “I don't have to! We'll come with you! In order for the contract to be legal, at least four witnesses must be present- Malfoy's mother, Malfoy's father, me and Ron.”  
Ron grins. “If that plan sounded any less brilliant, I'd ask you where you bloody learned that from” he laughs, “but I won't.”  
Harry just chuckles as Hermione blushes, a wide smile spreading on her lips.

*

The Mansion is big and familiar to Draco, yet it couldn't seem more foreign.  
It feels overwhelming; too tiny, too dark- Draco can't breathe, and he can only feel his own pain.  
“Lucius” Narcissa says, voice slightly pleading. “He's hurting. We can't keep him here any longer.”  
“Not until we'll come to an agreement” Bellatrix says, smiling wide. “Why can't you just _focus_ , Draco?”  
She walks closer to her nephew, that creepy smile of hers never leaving her face. “It'll be over as soon as you and your mother promise us to collaborate, you see.”  
“We can't ask him to kill his mate” Narcissa snaps, voice firmer than before. “That'd be sick and cruel, and will leave him wounded for _ever_.”  
Bellatrix rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. “Perhaps” she replies, “but can you imagine a world where Harry Potter doesn't exist? A world where the Dark Lord rules?”  
She laughs cheerfully. “Wouldn't it be _perfect_!”  
Narcissa shakes her head and takes Draco's hand in hers. “Draco-”  
“ _Draco_ ” Lucius cuts her off, “you've got to listen to us. You _have_ to do this. You'll get Potter to trust you blindly with his life-”  
“Seduce him!” Bellatrix adds, staring at him with a crazy look in her eyes.  
Lucius gulps, “...do whatever it takes” he adds quietly, “and, when he's expecting it less, you'll Fire-call us. We'll get him while he sleeps, or when he's more vulnerable. The Dark Lord will finally have him, and you” he says, his voice filling with pride, “you'll be our _Savior_.”  
“Perhaps, that's why you presented as Omega!” Bellatrix provides, voice light and excited. “You are the Chosen One!”  
Draco could shake his head forever- he's not the Savior, he's not the Chosen One- _Harry_ is. He doesn't have any mission to complete, doesn't have any special power, he isn't destined to anything. He just-  
He just wants to be happy.  
“I can't” he mutters brokenly.  
Lucius' voice get stuck in his throat- he carefully eyes Bellatrix, who is narrowing her own eyes suspiciously.  
“Draco” he says, lowering his voice and stepping closer to him, to the point he's not towering over him anymore but is, instead, almost kneeing in front of him. That's when Draco sees it in his father's eyes- desperation.  
“You and your mate can't have heirs” he says quietly, voice barely audible. “You know how important it is to have someone inheriting all that's ours, don't you?”  
He clears his throat, hoping his voice will sound firmer. “If the Dark Lord were to know the Malfoys have come to an end” he adds, “he'd kill us all.”  
Narcissa barely suppresses a sob. Her hands slowly let go of Draco's.  
“You should go back to Hogwarts” she says, barely holding back her tears. “You must be hurting terribly.”  
Draco can't speak. He doesn't even nod.  
He just stands up, and his father's hand on his shoulder doesn't comfort him in the slightest.  
He must do something.  
He _will_ do something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really hope you've enjoyed this! Also I wanted to tell you all: my story is kind of an au. It takes place when Harry and Draco are 17 years old; it doesn't follow the line of events in the books/movies. This means that both Snape and Dumbledore are alive and the final war has never happened (Voldemort is still alive as well, though). Draco has never done all the things he's done in the last book/movie and Voldemort hasn't yet tried to definitely kill Harry.
> 
> Anyway! Leave kudos and comments if you liked this! I really tried my best to write this even while I was buried under books and didn't have any free time ;___;  
> I'll probably update again towards the end of February, but I'll try my best to update sooner if possible. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter! Also, come say hi on my [tumblr](http://99millionmilesaway.tumblr.com/)!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco is _so_ going to save Harry's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a big “thank you” goes to my amazing beta **Apieceofpaper**! I'm the luckiest person ever because she's faster than light to read and correct my chapters. Really.  
>  It's been longer than a month since the last time I updated- and I'm so sorry about that! I've been super busy, and still wanted to update with a long, meaningful chapter. That's why it has taken me so long.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Mate. Home. Safe.  
Draco closes his eyes and just _breathes_.

“Hey” Harry says, familiar voice and familiar scent. Draco is going to be okay. “Why so clingy?”  
But of course, the idiot had to ruin it. “Shut up, Scar-head” Draco hisses, and just wraps his arms tighter around Harry's shoulders.  
Hermione is just staring at them, kind of shook, but mostly surprised. She _really_ wasn't expecting Malfoy to be that...affectionate? Could that be the word?

She clears her throat as soon as Harry's hand moves caringly to Draco's hair, stroking it gently. “I should go” she says. Had she known that Draco was going to freaking _attack_ Harry all of a sudden like that, just as they were turning around a corner while going to the Gryffindor common room, she'd have apparated out of Hogwarts. No kidding.  
Harry himself had gasped as Draco had appeared out of nowhere and wrapped him in his arms in a very, very strong hold. Hermione had legitimately drawn out her wand, ready to cast a spell before she had identified Malfoy.  
The girl is already turning to walk away, completely ignored by the two, when she notices a detail.  
“Why are you here?” she asks, turning to face Draco- or well, what she'd see of Draco if he weren't trying that hard to make himself as tiny as possible in Harry's arms- and furrowing her eyebrows. “I thought your parents were supposed to take Harry to your Mansion to sign the papers at dawn. It's so late- what took you so long?”  
Draco _can_ hear her questions, but just can't bring himself to care enough to answer. He's aching _everywhere_ ; what he had heard was true. He shouldn't stay too far from his Alpha for too long, especially not in this early stage of his change of status; he was going crazy with not being close to him.  
But as Harry frees himself from his hold- Draco is too weak right now, he can't fight. He just sighs, facing Hermione and answers her questions.  
“We had a lot to discuss. We'll meet my parents in the morning” he tries, evasive. “And I'm here because I couldn't bear to pass another minute without my mate.”  
_Ugh_. He hadn't meant to be that honest, and Harry's shit-eating grin is so unnerving.  
“Okay” Hermione says, suddenly pale and probably shook, “I've heard enough. Good night to you both.”  
She quickly walks away. Harry's chuckle echoes in the shell of his ear, and Draco makes a poor job of suppressing a shiver. He immediately wraps his arms around him again, refusing to let him go.  
“All right” Harry laughs, “I don't think you'll stop clinging to me any time soon, mh?”  
“More like ever” Draco corrects him. Harry chuckles again.  
“We should at least go to our room” he suggests. “If any of the professors sees us here we'll get detention for sure.”  
Draco groans, but lets go of Harry. As soon as he does, though, he immediately reaches for his hand and holds it with his own, lacing their fingers together.  
Harry smiles at him, quiet and curious and pleased, and Draco's heart swells in his chest.

He's not losing him. No matter what.

*

Harry wonders if he'll ever get used to the feeling of Draco's lips pressing kisses to his own.  
It's so _weird_. They were enemies, used to yell at each other from the two ends of the hall while having meals, threaten each other almost every day- and now they're _kissing_ , and Draco's firmly holding onto the fabric of his shirt for dear life with a hand while the other is stroking the skin of his shoulder.  
And the fact is, Harry's _falling in love_. He knows he is, and he knows he should be scared and shocked by that knowledge, but he _isn't_ ; he would easily trust Draco with his life, even after all they've been going through during all those years.  
“Stop thinking all of that” Draco pleads, and oh, Harry had forgotten that Draco could read every single thought in his mind. He hums, an easy grin drawing on his lips.  
“Why?” he teases. “Done with my fondness, Malfoy?”  
Draco actually growls. “You have no idea” he says, and sounds somehow angry. He kisses him again, almost rough.  
“Stop being so naive” he hisses, and there's desperation in his tone. Harry can't understand.  
“And you stop being that dramatic” he huffs. “It's not like your parents are going to pull us apart.”  
Draco sighs. “You don't know that-”

“Just wait until they see our babies” Harry grins, all teeth and confident look in his green eyes. “They'll _melt_.”  
Draco almost rolls his eyes, but then _realizes_ just what Harry said.  
“What?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Harry-”  
“They'll be _stunning_!” Harry keeps saying, and looks just so fucking _happy_. “Just try to imagine, Draco- my eyes and your hair, or your eyes and my hair, your complexion or mine! Can you think of all the ways our genes would mix? I'm sure that'd be _incredible_. Our daughters are going to win beauty contest, I'll tell you that. _Hell_ , our _sons_ are going to win beauty contests.”  
Draco would laugh or roll his eyes, but right now he can only shake his head and swallow his sadness. “Harry-”  
“I know this is being _so_ forward, but- you know, mates and what not, yeah? We're probably going to love each other, like, forever, no worries about being too young! We should make a baby _now_! If you want to, that's it, who needs Hogwarts anyway-”  
“Harry” Draco tries again, tone firmer.  
“Merlin, I don't mean to hurry, but- I really, _really_ want a family-”  
“Harry!” Draco actually _yells_. Harry freezes, and Draco aches.  
“Harry” he sighs.  
“I'm listening” Harry replies. “What is it?”  
He sounds concerned. Draco knows he's just about to break his heart.  
He reads his thoughts. He can hear Hermione telling Harry that most omegas can have children; he sees the way Harry's imagining the future, a blonde little girl with big sparkling green eyes holding both his and Harry's hand.

Draco's eyes literally get watery as he says quietly, “I can't. I can't give you that.”

He can't actually hear Harry's heart shattering, but he swears he doesn't need to; Harry already looks broken just by the look in his eyes.  
“What?” he asks, in a small voice. “Hermione said-”  
“Malfoy omegas have always been infertile” he admits. “Even my mother, a Black, has needed magic to have children. Add that to me being a male omega, and...”  
He trails off. He doesn't need to repeat that.  
But Harry does anyway. “And you can't have children” he finishes.  
Draco nods. If he could...if he only could, he'd know what to do. He wouldn't have to worry about saving Harry's life; it would be easy, and they'd actually have a family, and...  
...And Harry wouldn't look like that.

Oh, Draco knows that look. He was barely a child himself, couldn't be older than four years at most, but that moment just carved itself into his memory forever.  
He remembers that same look in his parents' eyes, when they lost what should have been his sibiling. And his mother almost died during the pregnancy, too- they decided to never try that again.  
But that _look_. Draco's never, ever going to forget it.  
And now, Harry has that same look in his eyes; Draco understands, of course. His parents died, Sirius -the last bit of family he had- died as well, and now...in a certain way, it's like his children have just died too.  
“I'm _sorry_ -” Draco says, and wasn't expecting his voice to sound that broken, that desperate. “If only I could do something, _anything_ about this, I _swear_ I would-”  
Harry weakly shakes his head and takes Draco's hands in his. “It's okay” he mutters. “It's not your fault.”

Stress, desperation, disappointment and fear all overwhelm Draco in that exact moment, while Harry's forgiving him that easily, even when Draco's denying him one of his biggest desires.

Even when Voldemort is going to kill him, and Draco can't do anything to save him.

He's crying even before he's aware of doing so. And Harry's arms are immediately wrapping around his trembling shoulders and waist, quiet little nothings are whispered in his ear and thumbs are stroking his skin lovingly, soothingly.  
Draco has seen how Harry used to look at Ginny, how Ginny used to smile at him and how both their faces used to light up when they'd see each other. Draco's ruined him, his future, his every chance to be happy.  
“It is” Draco sobs. “It _is_ my fault. I've wanted this too much.”  
Harry doesn't ask, but he has to know. He _has_ to. Draco keeps speaking.  
“You- you don't know that, you idiot-” his voice is broken, barely understandable, “but when- when someone wants someone else _too much_ \- speaking about soulmates, I mean-”

At that, Harry finally moves to face him. And that's bad, so bad, even if his expression is cautiously blank.  
“What do you mean?” he asks. “That sounds like you've always been- you know, and that's just impossible, you can't-”

“I _was_ ” Draco nearly yells. “I have. I have _always_ been in love with you- Merlin, why can't you _understand_!”

Harry blinks. What? He's always hated Malfoy. For real. How is it possible that Draco never really hated him back?  
“I couldn't be your friend” Draco growls, reading his mind. “What would my parents have said? I couldn't, Harry. I couldn't.”  
“But-” Harry tries to say, still confused.  
“ _But_ I've wanted you too much” Draco cuts him off. “I'm sorry. I forced the bond without even wanting to- I swear, I've never actually tried to get us together! Hell, I've tried anything and everything to keep you away from me, and I was so scared when we actually ended up as mates!”  
“I know” Harry says before Draco can keep going, “I know you didn't force the bond. And by the way, you couldn't do that with magic.”  
As Draco was expecting Harry to, Harry thinks of Ginny.

“Yes” Draco nods, still sobbing, “she did, of course. She really did love you- I just...I just loved you _more_. Than anyone else, I mean.”

And Harry knows he's not supposed to feel that, but his heart swells in his chest and he almost trembles with the sudden love and affection he's feeling towards the fragile, amazing thing crying his heart out in his arms.  
He kisses Draco, kisses him again, and again, and again- so many times that Draco even stops crying, his sobs still audible but weaker, his eyes still watery but only barely so.  
“Aren't you mad at me?” Draco asks dully, big gray eyes full of sadness.

Harry shakes his head and presses another kiss to his lips. “I love you too” he says, because it's the only thing that feels right to say. The only thing that could actually express all the emotions Harry's feeling, all the answers he could give to that question.

And Draco finally kisses him back.

 

*

 

“Why am I awake?”  
Ron yawns as he speaks, and Hermione slaps him lightly on his arm. “Keep your eyes _wide open_ ” she hisses, “we're going to the Malfoy Mansion. Harry's going to sign a contract, and we need to be ready to fight if we have to.”  
“Oh, no” a familiar voice laughs, and both Ron and Hermione raise their gazes. Harry's walking calmly towards them, and looking at Ron pitifully.  
“Let him go back to sleep” he sighs. Hermione frowns.  
“Where's Draco?” she asks suspiciously. “Aren't we supposed to go to the Mansion right now?”  
“We were” Harry nods. “Draco was...well, he was acting kind of weird yesterday night. He left a note and told me that he was going to the Mansion without us for today.”  
Ron yawns again. “Maybe he was going into heat” he offers. “Didn't want you to fuck him before you sign the papers.”  
Hermione's jaw drops, and when she slaps his arm again she actually hurts him. “Ronald!” she yells. “How _can_ you- I hope Parkinson and you make stupid, arrogant babies, just as evil as she is-”  
“Will you stop saying that?!” Ron pales, suddenly completely awake. Hermione already opens her mouth to yell something back, when Harry speaks.  
“About that” he says, rolling his eyes and then lowering his gaze, “Draco can't.”  
Both Ron and Hermione turn towards him, confused. “Can't have children” Harry explains, his voice quieter than before. “We, hum...talked about it yesterday.”

Hermione's rage disappears, and Ron's eyes fill with sadness.  
“Harry” he just mutters. Hermione wraps Harry tightly in a hug before he adds anything else.  
“I'm sorry” she says quietly, and just holds him.  
There's nothing else to say. Just as she finally lets him go, Ron wraps him in a hug as well, and pats his back while sighing quietly.  
There's no point in hiding them just how much Harry aches at the thought of not having a family, so he doesn't say anything. He just lets himself be held, knowing that at least his best friends' hugs will make him feel slightly better.  
“Butterbeer?” Ron asks against his shoulder.  
And both Harry and Hermione laugh.

*

Draco hasn't actually gone back to the Mansion.  
He's apparated to Muggle London; that world, so different and distant from his own, has always been his thinking place.  
When he was younger -and stupidly, terribly in love with Potter-, he used to come here and just wonder what streets Harry walked. He used to take long walks in parks, feeling out of place but just too curious to resist that urge; at least, he could feel closer to Potter in that way.  
He knew it was horribly pathetic, and not very Malfoy-ish -or even Slytherin-ish- too, but he felt closer to Potter's world when he took his same steps in the city.  
Today, everything feels so far away. The last time he was in Muggle London he was sad and had almost resigned about Potter ever looking at him as more of a potential lover than an enemy; now, he's scared and worried and Potter's _mate_.  
That's incredible. That's amazing. That's terrifying.

He needs to think.

He stares at families spending time together; at children running and laughing, at parents looking at them tiredly and proudly.  
He can't help but feel so _mad_ at himself. If only he could have children, if only he could provide the Malfoy family an heir, if only he could-

His eyes widen. Realization hits him; an old memory of words written with silver, dust-covered blue covers of an ancient book and the tiniest bit of hope building up in his heart-

He knows what to do.

 

*

 

Well, pre-heats really suck.  
Not that Draco has ever had any of those before, of course, but he recognized the symptoms as soon as they showed up; and he knew he had to leave Harry quickly if he wanted to still keep his mind focused.

Now, he couldn't be happier to have done just that. He's _so_ glad that he's in the Malfoy Manor instead of at Hogwarts' right now; he needs something that can be only found here.  
He holds his breath as he hears his parents say good night to each other. He waits for the light to get turned off, and then waits.  
He waits as long as he can, trembling with impatience and anticipation, until he's sure that both his parents have fallen asleep. He gets up from his bed and quickly heads to the library.  
He carefully avoids the house-elves as he walks, silent and with his heart hammering in his chest. He realizes to have been holding his breath only when he closes the library door behind his shoulders; he presses his back against the closed door and just _breathes_.  
Everything is more difficult when his body is aching, partly because his mate is far away and partly because he's going into heat in a few days, but he knows he has to be quick. He starts looking for the book he needs as soon as he regains his breath.

The last time he saw that book was a lifetime ago, really. He had read it in a stupid, naive hope to help his parents get over their sadness after losing their child; he really, really wanted a little brother at that time, and spent entire nights just reading that old and boring book.  
He wanted to name him Harry, just as the legendary child who had already proved himself stronger than the Dark Lord. Not that he could tell his parents about that, obviously; but maybe, secretly, he could call his little brother Harry. That could have been their secret.

Draco chuckles quietly to himself as he remembers about all of that. It's not that different than before, being there and trying to find a solution to a terrible problem.  
Only, this time it isn't his mother that he's trying to help. It's himself; his mate's life, their future.

The Malfoy library is _huge_ , so it's really no surprise when it's almost dawn and Draco still hasn't found the book. He's starting to think that his parents may have sold it, because that's dangerous magic, _dark_ magic even, when he finally _finds_ it.

It's even bigger than he remembered, but nothing is stopping him now.

His eyes widen as he finally finds what he was looking for; a chapter about infertile omegas pregnancies.

Will it work? Draco doesn't even notice how much he's sweating and trembling with panic as he keeps reading. But he can't stop, his parents will wake up soon, Harry and Granger and Weasley will be there soon, he has to be quick. He takes a blank scroll from the drawer under the desk, and copies all that's written on that small chapter.  
The sun is up in the sky by the time he's finished. He's shivering and his hand is hurting with the effort he's just put in writing as fast as possible; he closes the book, put it where he has found it, and heads back to his room, praying that none will see him and that his parents aren't up yet.  
He hides the scroll in his closet as soon as he closes his bedroom door behind his shoulders, and he finally lies back in his bed.  
Not that's he's actually getting any sleep, but it's nice.

*

Draco's eyes are tired and red from the all-nighter he's just put on, but they still widen with relief as soon as his mate walks into the room.  
Harry, followed by Granger and Weasley, greets Draco's parents respectfully and then smiles slightly, reassuringly, at him. Draco smiles back weakly.  
“So” Hermione says, voice cautious. “Let's get going, shall we?”  
Lucius gives her an irritated smile, which looks more like a grimace. Hermione's face stays cautiously suspicious; her hand sticks to her waist, where it must be close to her wand.  
“Of course” Lucius agrees, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the muggle-born witch. Ron looks vaguely scared and concerned, but neither Lucius or Narcissa seem to care.  
Their eyes move, and they both stare at Harry for a moment before speaking. “The contract is ready to be signed” Lucius says. He makes to hand it to Harry, but Narcissa steps closer to him before her husband does.  
“Harry” she calls him, touching his arm calmly. The palm of her hand is cold, even through the fabric of the jumper Harry's wearing. “Thank you.”  
Ron, behind them, grimaces. It's not fair to thank someone before they've done something; and Narcissa knows. She probably wants Harry to feel forced to agree.  
Not that she'll manage to- when Harry will sign the papers, he will do so because he _wants_ to. Lucius finally hands him the contract, and Hermione reads it attentively with Harry. She hovers over his shoulder and completely ignores the annoyed stares she gets from Draco's parents.

That's when she hears Draco's voice in her mind.

_Don't leave when we're finished here_ , Draco says. She freezes, raising her eyes towards him briefly before telling herself not to attract attention from anyone else in the room.  
_Good idea_ Draco keeps saying, _let's not look at me, alright? I can't hear your thoughts, so don't try and answer me. Just look at me if you agree, and lower your gaze if you disagree._  
Hermione looks at him briefly again, just furrowing her eyebrows before she stares at the contract again.  
_Don't freak out- I'm sure you're already aware of this. My parents want Harry killed. And, **no** \- the contract is alright! But the only way for Harry not to die is, well, me to have children._>

Hermione keeps her eyes fixed on the papers in Harry's hands, but she's actually shaking with concern and rage. _Harry must have told you that I can't have children- that's true. That's really true. But I have found another way, and I need your help. I can't do this by myself._  
Hermione is absolutely shocked at Draco being that honest. She looks at him for a second, sincerely surprised.  
_Apparate in Muggle London as soon as we're finished here. Ask Weasley to take Harry somewhere else- he can't follow us. This is very important._

He hesitates for a second before adding, _Look at me if you agree._

Harry signs the papers, and Hermione does. 

__

__*_ _

__

In any other moment, Draco would ask himself just _how_ this has happened. Just some weeks before this moment, he would have never pictured himself and _Granger_ taking a walk in his favorite muggle park, talking about _saving Harry Potter's life_.  
This is the safest place for them to talk about something this important, after all. Weasley has actually done an oddly good job of convincing Harry to get away from them for a bit- they must have all thought that Hermione wanted to have a threatening talk with Draco and let her be, even with Harry rolling his eyes so hard it looked scary.  
They're a... pretty good team. Honestly. Draco's impressed, but will never say that aloud.  
“You're keeping such a big secret from Harry” Hermione says accusingly. “You actually _can_ let him read your thoughts- and Harry thinks it's _his_ fault that he can't!”  
“Alright” Draco hisses, “we don't have time for that now. You'll understand why I made that choice.”  
“Oh, yes” Hermione hisses back, “ _please_ do explain me.”  
Draco ignores the urge to kill her and just hands her the scroll where he's written all that information he needs. “Here” he says, and she starts reading.  
“It's in Latin” she mutters. “ _P. Scipio, cum eius uxor sterilis esset, liberos desperabat_ ” she reads aloud.  
Draco nods. “P. Scipio, since his wife was sterile, desperately wanted heirs” he translates.  
Hermione frowns. “Why are you showing me this?”  
“Because _this_ is the only thing that could help me and Harry have children” he explains, “but I can't understand some parts of it. That's partly why I need your help.”  
Hermione quirks one of her eyebrows. “Partly?” she asks suspiciously.  
Draco rolls his eyes. “Just keep reading.”  
“ _Olim autem mulier, cum sola cubaret, iuxta se repente anguem ingentis magnitudinis vidit_ ” she reads. “Well, it says that one day his wife was lying in their bed alone and she suddenly saw a big snake next to her. So?”  
“I know this” Draco groans. “What does _this_ say?”  
“ _Nam mulier non multis diebus postquam illum anguem in lecto conspexerat, cum coepisset concepti fetus signa pati, diebus septem peperit natusqua est P.Africanus_ ” he reads, showing her the words by moving his fingertip on the page. “This. What is this? The story says that Scipio discovered that the snake was a sign that his wife was going to get pregnant. What then?”  
Hermione narrows her eyes and just stays quiet for some minutes before she can finally translate. “I'm not sure” she admits dully, “but I think it says that Scipio's wife actually gave birth just seven days later.”  
“Is that all?” Draco asks.  
“No” Hermione shakes her head. “But that's the most important part, I think.”  
She almost reads some more words when Draco stops her abruptly. “Don't!” he nearly yells, “don't read those! That's the spell!”  
Hermione quirks her eyebrow, stares at him, and then _understands_. 

“You” Hermione mutters, “you want me to cast this spell.” 

Draco nods. “I need someone to” he says quietly, “I can't cast it by myself.”  
Hermione looks down, at the paper in her hands. “This can't be anything but Dark Magic” she realizes. “This-”  
She reads the spell in her mind and widen her eyes. “This is an Unforgivable!” she says breathlessly, shook.  
Draco suddenly grips her wrists, her hands still holding onto the paper. “It is” he snarls, “it's the only way.”  
Hermione shakes her head fiercely. “I'm not casting a spell that might _kill_ you-”  
“You _have_ to!” Draco insists. “Harry will get killed otherwise-”  
“I don't” Hermione mutters and stops, words getting stuck in her throat, “I _can't_ -”  
Draco's hands are warm and shaking around her wrists. She looks up, straight into his eyes, and they're so big and gray and full of determination that she almost stops breathing.  
“I need your help, Hermione” he says, and it's the very first time he's ever called her by her name. “I need you, to save Harry.” 

She tries to find some words to answer him. She doesn't find any. 

“Draco” she breathes. “What if you die” she says, and it doesn't even sound like a question.  
“I don't have a choice” Draco answers, shaking his head. “And I don't care.”  
Hermione looks down at the scroll in her hands again. She feels like she's going to faint.  
“This says” she breathes, “that you're going to feel like dying for seven days, and then-”  
“And then I'm going to lose consciousness, have my mate cut my stomach open, and save Harry's life” he cuts her off.  
“Draco” she tries, reasonable, “a baby is literally going to grow inside of you in a _night_ 's time. Your body will change abruptly and you'll feel like you're in hell.”  
Draco nods. He's so calm about this it's scary. “I know” he says. “I can take it. I just need to resist the urge to kill myself, I guess.”  
Hermione's jaw drops. “And _how_ exactly are you going to do that?”  
“You and Weasley will help me out” he says. “I thought this through.”  
Hermione shakes her head. “There's _no way_ Ron is going to do that. I don't want him to get involved in...this.”  
Draco grits his teeth. “Oh, really?” he snarls. “I thought you'd both want your fucking best friend to live!”  
“It's not about that, of course!” Hermione snarls back. “I just don't want-”  
“You know why I asked _you_ to help me?” Draco cuts her off, and the question oddly stops Hermione. She just stares at him, confused.  
“I didn't do that just because you're the one person who's intelligent enough to cast the spell without killing me in the process- hell, you don't know how much I still hate you for always getting better grades than mine.”  
Hermione furrows her eyebrows. “Why, then?” she asks.  
“You're the one person” he says quietly, “who loves Harry almost as much as I do.”  
Hermione shakes her head. “I mean, I do, but-”  
“As a sister, I mean” Draco rolls his eyes, “don't be silly- I know you're in love with that damn Weasley, come on.” 

He ignores Hermione blushing a deep red and keeps talking. “You're the closest thing he has to family, yeah? And that's why you'll risk my life in order to save his. Won't you?” 

Hermione gulps quietly. “This is an Unforgivable” she repeats. “You're going to ache for seven days. You won't eat, or drink, or anything else. It will be like...”  
“Like I'm dead” Draco finishes for her, “just, still able to suffer.”  
“And you'll suffer _a lot_ ” she adds quietly.  
Draco sighs. “I just need you and Weasley to, ugh- watch over me, yeah? And to keep Harry away. He can't see me until the last day- if he sees me before then, I'll die.”  
“This is crazy” she whispers. “And before all of this, you have to face a snake?”  
“Exactly” Draco sighs. “I mean, since I'm risking my life anyway...”  
Hermione sighs as well. “I have to think about this” she mutters.  
Draco shows teeth, his rage building up again. “We don't have _time_ to think” he growls, “I'm going to do all of that.”  
“Draco!” she yells. “You can't do that!”  
“I will” he whispers, gritting his teeth, and he Apparates away in a second. 

__

__*_ _

__

Ron gets shaken awake in the middle of the night.  
“What-” he mutters, panic building up, but a hand presses to his mouth before he can add anything else.  
“Hush” Draco mumbles, checking behind his shoulders to make sure no one else has woken up. “I need you to follow me.”  
Ron frees himself from Draco's hold, and looks at him like he's just grown a second head. “The hell?” he asks, confused.  
“Come on” Draco just answers, starting to walk away. Ron hesitates for a second, and then follows him out of the Gryffindor Dungeon.  
“Where are we going?” Ron whispers, as they even walk out of Hogwarts. The night is dark and quiet, and he doesn't like this a bit. “Do you want to kill me? Because _I_ 'll kill you-”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “I've tried to talk to your girlfriend, but she isn't being reasonable. You listen to me now.”  
Ron furrows his eyebrows. “My girlfriend-” he repeats, confused, before Draco cuts him off.  
“I said, listen. Granger will cast an Unforgivable on me, which will make me able to save Harry's life-”  
“What?” Ron nearly yells. “An Unforgivable? Why would she do that? And, to save _Harry's life_?”  
This must be a dream. He must have eaten too much before sleep- damn, he swore he'd never do that again. The last time, he dreamed of being chased by spiders twice the size of those he met during Second Year.  
“Will you just _listen_!” Draco says, exasperated. “Why can't you and Granger understand how important this is? If me and Harry have children, they can't kill him. He'll be part of the family, and my parents won't try to hurt him.”  
“Your parents aren't the only ones who want to kill him” Ron protest.  
“True” Draco nods, “but they won't try to hand him to the Dark Lord. They'll _protect_ him instead.”  
“Just because he's part of the family?” Ron asks, skeptical.  
Draco nods. “They'd never hurt the father of my children, Weasley.” 

Ron sighs. “So” he yawns, “what do you need me to do?”  
“Persuade Granger” Draco says, “and keep an eye on me while I'm in hell.”  
Ron blinks. “While you're in hell?” he repeats.  
“Listen” Draco says quietly, “this is it. I face a snake first. Then Granger casts an Unforgivable on me, and me and Harry's child grows inside of me in a night's time. Supposing that I survive that, I try to survive seven more days of horrible pain and not kill myself- that's what the curse is. It's all about excruciating pain.”  
Ron gulps loudly. “And then? I mean, if you- if you survive that all?”  
“Well” Draco sighs, “if Granger makes a good job of casting the spell without killing me already and then you two keep me from committing suicide, Harry will cut my stomach open and we'll have a child and Harry's life saved. Ta-dah” he says flatly. 

Ron is pale, and his eyes look just about to pop out of their sockets. “That sounds terrible” he mumbles. “Why- why would you even do that to yourself?”  
Draco rolls his eyes. 

“Because I love him, you idiot.” 

__

__*_ _

__

From where he's sat, Ron can see Parkinson smirking at Zabini. He really hopes they don't end up being soulmates like Hermione keeps saying.  
It's not that Parkinson isn't pretty, because she _kind of_ is- it's her personality. If Parkinson is ever going to have a soulmate, she's no doubt going to be the Alpha of the couple.  
Ron really doesn't want to be her Omega. Hell, it's even alright to be an Omega, just not _hers_ , okay? He would rather-  
Hermione snaps two fingers in front of his eyes. Ron blinks back to reality.  
“So?” Hermione asks him. She's prettier that Parkinson, indeed. Not _beautiful_ , nor _gorgeous_ \- Ron doesn't _like_ her. He just means, she's _okay_. Not that bad. _Passable_.  
She stares at him with her big, brown eyes, eyebrows furrowed and beautiful lips almost pouting-  
“Ronald!” she calls again. He just nods fiercely, desperately trying not to blush.  
“Yes, yes” he mutters, “listen. We need to help Malfoy.”  
She blinks, and her jaw drops. “Excuse me?” she nearly yells. “He's talked to you _too_?”  
“I know, that's shocking” Ron says, and he's not even ironic. “He even _literally_ told me that he loves Harry. I think this is serious, 'Mione.”  
She tries not to pass out before she answers. “I know it is” she says too fast, biting her tongue accidentally in the process, “but I can't cast an _Unforgivable_!”  
“It's the only way we can save Harry's life!” Ron protests.  
“You say that” Hermione hisses, “because you don't care a bit about Draco's life.”  
“Of course I don't-”  
“And that's exactly why he spoke to you” she continues, ignoring him, “he _knows_ what he's doing.”  
She puts her head in her hands. “I can't do that” she murmurs. “I can't doom Harry to a life without his mate. He will hate me forever- _I_ will hate myself forever.”  
“And we'll let Harry die instead?” Ron furrows his eyebrows. Hermione shakes her head.  
“We've fought the Dark Lord before” she replies. “We can fight him again.”  
“Just to save _Malfoy_ 's life? We're going to risk _our_ lives for that?”  
“We are!” Hermione snarls. “Ron- look what he's trying to do to you! He knew he could manipulate you!”  
“He hasn't” Ron shakes his head, “it's just that, you know what? I understand him. If _you_ were my soulmate, Hermione, I surely wouldn't care about _my_ life to save yours, yeah?”  
She blinks. Her words die in her throat.  
Well, if she were in Draco's place, she'd... 

She'd do the same. 

“So, 'Mione” Ron mutters, and his face is all red after what he's accidentally said. Hermione would laugh, if only she wasn't that busy blushing herself. “Are we going to do that? Save Harry's life?”  
His hands touch her timidly. He holds hers, his fingers warm against her skin.  
Oh, Merlin. She really hopes Parkinson won't turn out to be Ron's mate. 

“Like we always do”, she smiles shyly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you all liked it- leave kudos and comment if you did!  
> I'm just gonna drop these words here: I've studied Latin and ancient Greek for some years, and I myself translated the Latin text in the story (I also changed the original Latin version a bit, it originally said “ten months” instead of “seven days”). If anyone knows Latin and sees any mistake in what I've written and translated, please let me know! The text was taken from [here](http://forum.studentville.it/threads/versione.25319/), I just re-arranged it a bit.
> 
> Leave kudos and comments and come say hi on my [tumblr](http://99millionmilesaway.tumblr.com/)~


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco has a lot of _extra assignments_ waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm back from the dead.   
> **Quick summary of the story until now** : Draco has randomly presented as Omega even if he had been convinced he'd be an Alpha his whole life, his parents are kind of freaking out and want to get Harry out of the way (like, REALLY out of the way), Draco can read Harry's mind and Harry can feel Draco's emotions. That's basically it! Now Draco has found a Latin text about pregnancy and has decided that having an heir is the only way to save Harry's life. Which, like...no sane person in real life would do that, but whatever. Sorry for the late update, but life's been reaaaally buuuusy lately. I still have ALL intentions of getting this story to an end though, so don't worry! Even if updates are always going to be veeeeery slow, mind you.
> 
> This chapter has been beta'd by the amazing Apieceofpaper once again.
> 
> Enjoy!

He knows he's losing his mind.  
But it's a good kind of losing; the kind that leaves him numb, unthinking, unfeeling, empty.  
A sudden sense of calm has washed over him at last, and Draco feels light-headed.  
Harry smiles at him, and he smiles back. “I haven't seen you this relaxed in _years_ ,” he teases fondly.  
Draco huffs just for show. “I can hear your thoughts,” he reminds him, “and nope, it's _not_ thanks to you that I'm really, really calm right now.”

Except it is. Draco has gone through all kind of things during this last week; he's seen Harry sign papers for his freedom, he's fought to find a solution to the _my-parents-want-to-kill-my-mate_ problem, he's convinced Granger and Weasley to help him save Harry's life and has actually made up a plan to go and face a bloody serpent so he can do just that. Not to mention he, huh, has to get pregnant so he can possibly get a chance to live a long, happy life with his mate and family.  
(After going through seven days of horrific pain and giving birth.)  
 _Duh_. He's gonna have a break-down for sure.  
Not now, though. Right now, all he all he wants to do- or keep on doing- is lay right here, in Harry's arms, a smile dancing on his lips and all the weight of the world momentarily lifted from his shoulders.

He closes his eyes and listens to the rain, to the soft sound of Harry's breathing in his ear.  
Everything is still. Everything is quiet. It's like they're the last people on the earth.  
Draco's learnt how to stop listening to Harry's mind, and it really is a relief. He doesn't want to constantly be inside of his head; he wants to feel like the bond doesn't exist for just a few hours, wants Harry's hands and smiles and words, his soft laughter in the shell of his ear and nothing else. He doesn't want to think of anything, and he hopes Harry wants that too; some sort of peace of mind, however fleeting and fragile.

Harry's fingertips lower their touch- from Draco's hair to his left cheekbone, and then to the corner of his lips. Draco opens his eyes again, and his breath almost catches in his throat when he meets Harry's deep, emerald gaze.  
His eyes are looking at him with such fierce devotion, with such tamed determination. He can feel the strength of his love. He can feel his emotions- even if he actually _can't_ , not in the same way Harry is able to feel his; but the way he looks at Draco is so open and transparent he couldn't be wrong.

Draco's hands move on their own, and he immediately reaches for the back of Harry's neck. He pulls him closer, kisses him with all he's got- with all the fear and desperation he's just forgotten about, with all the strength of the sacrifices he's going to make, with all the hope that he feels growing deep in himself.  
They're going to be okay.

 

///

 

The night is cold and dark, the snowy piercing air surrounding him barely bearable. He's not dressed warmly enough for this, he decides; he can feel his bones freezing with the chilling winter wind lashing at his face. He should have worn more layers of clothes, he thinks. He should have-  
“Can you please move?” comes the broken voice of Weasley, sharp and annoyed. “I'm dying over here.”  
Draco can barely form words- it's so bloody _cold_. He just gives up when he hears Granger's voice answering in his place. “Go back to the castle,” she says calmly. There's no judgment, and there's no venom. Draco turns around to watch; she's looking right into Weasley's eyes, and her gaze is fierce and protective. It reminds him of Harry's.  
Weasley shakes his head weakly. “There's no way I'm leaving you out here,” he replies.  
Granger doesn't smile. “Let's find that serpent quickly,” she just whispers.

The snow is falling to the ground, and Draco can't stop staring at it as it shines in the dark. He can't feel his raised arm anymore, it's gone numb because of the cold. At this point, he doesn't even know why Granger and Weasley are bothering with helping him out here when they could be sleeping in the warm, familiar heat of their beds.  
He's cast a spell before heading out, so Harry can't get out of their room; but he knows he's delusional. There's absolutely no way Harry Potter couldn’t just break his spell and just run after him as soon as he wakes up and notices his absence.  
His brows furrow- he wonders if they've gone white with the snow, because sure they feel icy. He needs to try harder. He has to be quicker.  
The light coming from the candle in his lantern is barely enough to see what's around him. He wonders if any of this could be somehow avoidable; he's a Slytherin, he thinks of how to overcome obstacles in easier ways on a daily basis. Maybe he could-  
A howl echoes in the forest. Draco's heart-beat goes insane in a second.

The first thing he thinks of is Harry, the possibility that his emotions could wake him up and send him running after him. The second is _I'm not dying out here_.  
Granger seems to be thinking the same thing. “Malfoy,” she calls, her voice breaking in the middle of the word because of the cold, “I'm going to cast a _Serpensortia_.”  
Draco turns around at the speed of light. “Are you out of your bloody mind?!” he replies. The sound of his own voice startles him for a second- it's so very cold out here.  
Weasley doesn't seem as shocked as he is in the slightest. “It's either that, or a werewolf,” Granger insists, absolutely fearless. Draco wonders briefly what kind of events could have made her so bold. “Be reasonable,” Weasley provides helpfully, brows furrowed in annoyance.  
But Draco doesn't get a chance to _reasonably think about it_ , because next thing he knows Granger is casting the bloody spell.  
“ _Serpensortia_!”

When Draco cast that same spell as a kid, he certainly wasn't expecting _this_ to happen later in his life. He gasps as the serpent appears in front of him, just staring at him for a few seconds before hissing loudly.  
His knees decide they've had enough of supporting his weight, and in an instant, he's down on the frozen ground. The serpent is abnormally big and towering all over him, scanning him with its dark, tiny, hungry eyes-  
“Malfoy!” Weasley yells. It sounds like he's called his name for some seconds already. “Looked at it well enough?”  
Is he being ironic? Draco can't tell if he's being ironic, or just insulting his intelligence. Weird, the things he thinks as consciousness comes back to his brain. Maybe he's going mad.

He tries to get up to his feet again. They just don't seem to work.  
“I can't get up!” he screams, scared to death. He tries to move, but his entire body just won't answer his desperate calls to survive.  
“Stop yelling!”, Granger whispers. Draco doesn't get how he could possibly stop panicking, but that's seemingly what the mud blood wants him to do right now.  
He's still undergoing the scrutiny of the serpent, and his blood is coiling in his veins. He doesn't want to die. He _really_ doesn't want to die.  
“Why are we not casting a _Vipera Evanesca_?”, Weasley asks quietly. That's actually a not-so-dumb question.  
“The serpent has to go away on its own,” Granger explains. “Stay calm. If it attacks, I'll cast the spell.”  
Draco doesn't feel like trusting her, but he does it anyway. _She loves Harry almost as much as I do_ , he reminds himself while trembling with fear. _She wouldn't let her best friend live a miserable life without her mate would she? Right?_   
The serpent is still looking at him, tongue flickering out of its mouth for a second. Draco kind of wishes he could faint immediately, instead of having to stare at this thing until it probably kills him.

But just like that, the serpent decides it's had enough. It lowers his head and trails away from Draco, making its way through the snow until it's barely visible.  
Draco stares at the horrendous, viscid thing that has mercifully decided to spare his life. What a story to tell.  
He turns around, and the looks in Granger's and Weasley's eyes are somehow not nearly as impressed as he feels.  
“Done,” Weasley rasps between rattling teeth. “Back to the dormitories now.”  
Granger nods and literally pulls Draco back up to his feet. “Come on,” she prompts him. Her voice sounds almost gentle. She doesn't let go of his shoulders until he feels -and looks- steady on his feet again.  
“He's okay,” Weasley grumbles. Draco watches as a fond, exasperated smile grows on Granger's lips.  
She finally lets go of him, and Draco remembers he can actually walk and move on his own. “Let's go back to the dormitories,” she repeats quietly, eyeing him cautiously. Maybe she thinks he's going to faint or something- Draco sure feels like he could. She casts a quick _Lumos_ , stares at him for a second and then starts leading the way; she asks Weasley if he's okay, and he nods reassuringly.  
The air is getting even colder, and Granger's breath comes out of her mouth in tiny, condensed huffs of ice. It's mesmerizing- Draco thinks of Harry, of all the fights they've had at Hogwarts during the winters. Thinks of his black hair and green eyes. Recalls his nose, red with the cold, his hands closed around a snowball. His smile as he hits a slytherin back- Draco's blood taking fire with rage and want. 

Those days seem so far away.

He follows Granger and Weasley back to the castle, and whispers a quiet _thanks_.  
He's not sure any of them has heard him, but at least he's said it.

 

///

 

Harry wakes up as soon as he steps into their room again.  
“Draco,” he calls, barely awake enough to form words. Draco freezes on the spot, waiting for his unavoidable questions.  
Harry squints his eyes at him, trying to see him properly in the dark. Draco takes the opportunity to shrug off his robe and hat, and he's still taking off his scarf when Harry finally puts his glasses back on the bridge of his nose.  
“What are you doing?” he asks, confused. Draco can feel himself tremble with cold and anxiety.  
He tries to form some kind of words, but fails miserably. Harry keeps staring at him.  
“Please say something,” Draco whispers.  
Harry crosses his arms, his brows furrow. He doesn't look angry- he's mostly perplexed.  
“You just came back here?” he mutters, looking at his heavy clothes on the floor. His gaze moves back to Draco's irises. “Are you hiding something from me?”  
It doesn't really sound like a question. Draco doesn't know what to do- he lowers his eyes.  
“You are?” Harry prompts him. “Draco-”  
“Please”, Draco cuts him off quietly, “ _please_ don't ask me. I promise you-”  
He sees Harry open his mouth to interject, and his desperation grows stronger. “Please don't-”  
Harry sighs loudly. He drops his head in his hands, and Draco cuts himself off. He stops so abruptly he actually bites his tongue so hard he draws blood.  
“Draco,” Harry calls again. He sounds tired. Draco wonders briefly if he's had enough sleep. “I'm- trying _really_ hard to trust you here. Have been doing that for weeks, now.”  
Draco swallows the lump in his throat. He knows. “And I need you to be sincere with me,” Harry finishes.  
Draco nods. He tries to calm himself down before he speaks again, but he knows Harry's listening to his emotions- and his emotions will betray any kind of façade he tries to pull up for sure. He clears his throat and finally talks. “Okay,” he agrees cautiously. “I can do that.”

Harry looks taken aback for a second. “Yeah?” he asks, surprised. Draco nods again. “Yeah,” he confirms.  
Harry stares at him. “Well,” he prompts him.  
Draco wets his lips and moves his gaze around the room. He really does miss his reassuring green and silver on the curtains and on the wall. “I'm doing,” he starts slowly, “something good. Something you will thank me for later.”  
Harry doesn't look pleased with his statement. “Where's my part in that?” he blurts out. Draco can hear the blatant annoyance in his tone.  
He tries to think before he speaks. “That,” he answers, “is going to come later. Eventually.”  
Now Harry _does_ look angry. It's almost scary- Draco suddenly remembers he's supposed to be as a powerful wizard as Lord Voldemort. He steps back, and that-

That seems to dissipate all of Harry's anger in a second.  
“Oh, Merlin,” Harry mutters softly. “I'm- I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you-”  
“Just,” Draco interjects him, “just don't look at me like that. Please?”  
Harry looks torn. Draco keeps talking, desperate to convince him. “I promise you that you're already doing what I need you to do. I'm not fooling you. I'm just trying to-”  
He cuts himself off again. He _must_ stop here. The spell won't work if Harry knows.  
“Trust me,” he breathes at last. “That's all I'm asking you. I swear I'll tell you everything.”  
Harry doesn't directly answer to his plea. “Are you in danger?”, he asks instead.  
Draco stares at him, and doesn't speak. “Draco-” Harry tries again.  
“Trust me,” Draco repeats stubbornly. “I'm not going to die or anything, and neither are you. Can you stop being the bloody hero for a second?! Can you actually _let_ me do something, or do you really think of me as the skinny, defenceless omega-”  
He watches Harry physically react to his provocation; his eyes widen, his mouth gapes, his brows furrow and he's replying in a second. “What?!”, he almost yells, offended. “I don't-”  
“Then _prove_ it!”, Draco yells back.

It's like his voice has broken an invisible glass, suddenly shattering and falling loudly to the ground. Harry closes him mouth, petrified.  
Draco doesn't know what else to say. He's stopped trembling, he doesn't feel anything anymore. Not even the biting cold.  
He knows he's lying. He knows he could die, and Harry after him. He knows he's manipulating him- and there's no Slytherin pride in doing that, or in _managing_ to do that.  
He knows he's hurting him.  
“I'm sorry,” he whispers. “I really am.”  
Harry nods slowly- Draco could swear he had been perfectly still until now. “I'm sorry, too,” he says at last. His eyes find Draco's. “Come here.”  
Draco feels the weight of the world fall from his shoulders again- his relief is so strong that it must wash over Harry as well. He opens his arms, and Draco immediately nuzzles into his chest.  
He had forgotten how cold it was outside; Harry pulls him closer, tugs the blanket upwards until Draco's nose disappears under it. “You're more ice than Draco,” he chuckles quietly. Draco really, really appreciates his efforts, and lets out a broken laughter as well.  
Harry kisses the top of his head. “There's snow in your hair,” he murmurs.  
It's the last thing Draco hears before his eyes shut close.

 

///

 

Harry looks at him from his seat, and Draco pretends to raise his chin dismissively.   
He looks back at him a second later, a grin on his lips. But Harry just rolls his eyes, not impressed, doing the same.   
Draco furrows his brows, offended, and falls right into his own trap. Harry's thoughts let him know he's extremely satisfied.  
 _You're more Slytherin that I am_ , Draco thinks. Harry can't read his mind, but smirks nonetheless when their gazes meet again; he doesn't need to hear his thoughts to know what he'd say.

It's like they've mutually, silently agreed to not speak about yesterday night, and Draco is _so_ relieved. He knows what his next step is; Weasley hasn't stopped looking at him with all the uneasiness he's probably capable of since the start of the lesson.  
He rolls his eyes when he meets his empty, horrified, staring gaze; he quirks his eyebrow up at him, hoping to will him to mind his own business.  
Okay, fine, knowing that your former enemy _has_ to have sex with your best friend in the next forty-two hours would make him uneasy too, but _still_. He wouldn't be that blatant. Weasley looks like he's going to throw up and really, that's not polite at all.  
 _What's going on between you and Ron?_ , Harry thinks. Draco doesn't know how he can possibly be able to do that, but he manages to sound horrified.  
He gazes at him- he's sat next to Weasley, obviously- and just shrugs. He looks at Snape next, and then stares back at him with an eloquent expression on his face.  
 _Fine, I'll let this drop for now_ , Harry mercifully grants. _Just because I don't want to have extra assignments for the next week again._  
Draco thinks of the _extra assignments_ waiting for him, and covers his mouth to not laugh like a madman.  
Harry thinks about pizza. What the hell is a pizza?!   
Draco huffs and randomly realizes he's going to see this guy naked in, like, twenty-four hours _at most_.   
Now _that_ is a good reason to start laughing like a madman.

///

Draco blinks sleepily, trying to focus on his homework again.  
He holds back a yawn, scrabbling messy notes on a corner of the book. His hand-writing doesn't look as elegant as always- why is he so sleepy?  
Oh, right. That's due to his little night adventure with Granger and Weasley, featuring the damn serpent that scared the living hell out of him.  
His gaze moves to Harry, reading quietly on his bed in the opposite side of the room. They've decided to separate their beds during the day- too many distractions.  
Draco blushes and hates himself for it.  
He tries to see Harry's face, but it's hidden by his book. He sighs, clearing his throat.  
“Harry,” he calls. Harry doesn't answer, and Draco tries again.  
“Potter,” he changes. Harry still doesn't move.  
His Slytherin nature takes the best of him. He tears a page away from his notebook, makes it into a ball and throws it at Harry's head.  
Which doesn't seem to work either. He then proceeds to throw his whole notebook at him, with similar results.  
“Harry!” he whines, finally getting off his bed and walking towards Harry's. “Why are you ignor-”

Harry's sleeping.

And that, _that_ should make him angry- he's going to have to help him with his homework later, dammit-, but doesn't. It's like his anger fades away in a second.  
He's just _so_ pretty- it's unfair, honestly. Nobody should have the right to look like that when sleeping.  
Draco can feel the weight of his forty-eight hours on his shoulders, not all that different from the ghost of responsibilities always following him around. He's a traitor on both ends- towards his family, towards his friends and his mate. He's unavoidably going to disappoint one or the other- or _both_.  
He pulls those thoughts away, where they can't reach him. Not now, at least. He finds his peace in Harry's peace, in the slow falling and rising of his chest, in his lowered eye-lids heavy with sleep.  
He holds up a hand, reaching for Harry's glasses still on the bridge of his nose-  
And that's when Harry's eyes snap open and a satisfied smirk grows on his lips, making Draco gasp loudly; his whole face radiates with pure amusement as he catches his wrists and pulls him in, resulting on Draco falling straight on top of him.  
He's laughing, the idiot. Draco's heart is still hammering in his chest, his eyes are still wide with surprise- he would start yelling at him, but Harry kisses him silent before he can say a single word.

The kiss catches him off-guard; it's slow, and easy, and so _familiar_ that Draco realizes only now just how real all of this is. When everything is finally over, this is what will be left. This- a simple life, an _happy_ life- will be his reward.  
He kisses back.  
But he doesn't kiss back like Harry does; he's too close to his heat for that, his whole body asking for way more than some gentle kissing. His arms wrap around his neck, he lowers himself on top of Harry completely, and Harry takes the hint; he rolls them over, and when Draco's eyelids flutter open again, the first thing he sees are Harry's emerald irises staring right back at him.  
He can feel his face warming up. Is he blushing? He must be blushing.  
He's still just a teenager, for Merlin's sake. He should be crying over his crush while eating vanilla ice cream.  
His thoughts quickly fly away, leaving his mind empty and weirdly relaxed. He smiles up at Harry, feeling numb and content all of a sudden.  
“You're losing your mind,” Harry muses quietly. “I don't like it,” he adds against his temple, lowering his head to kiss his forehead.  
“Guess my time has come,” Draco announces solemnly. “I'm officially going into heat and I can't honestly find a single reason to freak out.”  
Except he can- he can still feel some deep corner of his mind filling with worry, but it's like he can't find the energy to care. He just wants to close his eyes and abandon himself to his mate's care.  
“You don't like it?” he asks, the meaning of Harry's words getting to his brain only then. It reminds Draco of that night he was challenged to drink wine for the first time, and his mind had been slow and confused until the morning after.  
Harry shakes his head. “I don't like it”, he repeats. “I feel like you don't really know what you're doing.”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “I do. I know what I'm doing. My instincts are telling me what to do and I _do_ know what I'm doing.”  
Harry quirks an eyebrow up at him. Draco just tugs him closer. “I can prove it,” he says.  
Harry actually chuckles at that; Draco briefly wonders if his own emotions can influence his somehow. “I know,” he starts, “that you're holding back.”  
Harry rolls his eyes. “You can read my mind,” he reminds him flatly.  
“I'm not reading it now,” Draco replies honestly, telling the truth. His facial expression suddenly changes with his thoughts, his needs, his breath-taking urge to be more than just close to his mate. “Please, Harry,” he murmurs. “You know what to do, right?”  
His voice is barely louder than a whisper. He lifts his chin, exposing his neck to Harry's sight.  
His hands hold on tighter to Harry's shoulders. His gaze is deep, and intense, and so- _so_ -

Harry finally surrenders.

He lowers his head, and Draco shudders as soon as his lips make contact with his neck. He kisses the white, porcelain skin there, gently, so gently- Draco hurries him with a quiet whine, his head falling backwards even more. ”Harry,” he calls urgently.  
Harry bites.

He breaks the skin, sinking his teeth deep into the welcoming softness of his neck. His blood rushes in his veins, his eyelids flutter closed and all the air leaves his lungs at once- it's done. He's finally marking Draco as _his_ , and Draco _wants_ it, and it seems so wrong but feels so _good_ , and-  
He tastes blood. The sudden surprise takes him off-guard, and Harry slowly pulls away from his mate.  
It takes Draco a few seconds to open his eyes again, but when he does his irises are almost completely blown off by the overwhelming desire in his pupils. The gray in his eyes is almost invisible, and Harry feels his breath catch in his throat at the sight.  
“Done,” Draco mutters, out of breath as well. The tiniest smile is dancing on his lips, but Harry can feel his emotions and knows he's calm, relaxed, content. Satisfied. “We are now bound to each other- for life.”

Harry feels like laughing- he's suddenly being overwhelmed by joy, and happiness, like he was never _alive_ before now. “Will your name be 'Draco Potter' from now on, too?”  
Draco rolls his eyes. “Don't be ridiculous,” he says, feigning disgust, “remember those papers? You signed them and my surname's _always_ going to be 'Malfoy'.”  
“Damn papers,” Harry chuckles, playing along. He shuts Draco up with a kiss before he can speak.  
Draco's emotions are still calm and relaxed when he checks them, and Harry would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same. The thought of pheromones and whatever, their nature guiding them however it wants, still makes him angry in some distant place of his mind- but then he thinks, _this would have never happened if it wasn't for that_ , and Draco only nods at his unspoken words.  
“You said you weren't listening to my thoughts,” Harry says.  
“I lied,” Draco lies. “I do that a lot.”  
“You sounded honest.”  
“I'm a Slytherin.”  
“You weren't listening to my thoughts back then. I was thinking about how arrogant and stupid you are.”  
Draco looks at him, more hurt than affronted. “You were?”  
Harry laughs, shaking his head. “You idiot,” he whispers fondly against his lips. “ _I'm a Slytherin_ ,” he mocks him, imitating his voice.  
“Really funny,” Draco says, unamused. His heart has been hammering in his chest since Harry marked him, and it doesn't seem to want to slow down.  
“I want to see it,” he urges. “Get off me.”  
He unapologetically shoves Harry away, who's left watching him as he stumbles towards the closet. He lifts his chin up and examines the dark bruise on his pale skin- it will never fade away, and its colours will stay as vivid as they are now for as long as they love each other.  
Draco raises his hand and touches it with his fingertips- Harry, still sat on the bed, shudders unexpectedly.  
“Woah,” he blinks. “Give me some warning, next time.”  
Draco chuckles quietly, taking his fingers away. “It looks beautiful,” he whispers.  
He turns around, facing Harry again. His eyes are big and hopeful as he bites nervously at his lower lip.  
He looks like he wants to say something. Harry's breath catches in his throat.

“Yes,” he simply agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know where this is going~~~
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter! Also, come say hi on my [tumblr](http://99millionmilesaway.tumblr.com/)!


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